BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Asia: Overseas Trade

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to adapt British export strategies to the growing importance of (a) China and (b) other parts of Asia as a trading partner; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment's (UKTI) strategy ‘Britain Open for Business’ has identified 20 priority high-growth and emerging markets, of which 10 are in Asia (China, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam).
	UKTI was given £45 million in the 29 November 2011 Autumn Statement, Official Report, columns 799-810, part of which will be used to encourage more UK businesses into high growth markets such as those in Asia. UKTI has also established a programme targeting high value opportunities globally. This programme currently includes 23 opportunities in Asia.
	In addition, there have been a series of high level ministerial trade visits to the region, and UKTI continues to hold high level discussions with the Chinese and other key Asian trading partners.
	With regard to China, UKTI is working closely with the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) to deliver services in China. The CBBC is also playing a key role in the UK, organising business events linked to high level visits and small and medium-sized enterprise outreach activity. In addition, UKTI is organising a China Business Day as part of the overall British Business Embassy programme during the Olympics.
	Finally, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), have launched a campaign to encourage more British companies to export to Asia's high growth and emerging markets, under the auspices of the Asia Task Force, which will hold a series of practical events for exporters around the country in early February.

Chemicals: North West

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to ensure a global level playing field for the chemicals industry in the North West.

Mark Prisk: The UK chemicals sector is in the top 10 of global chemical producers and the third largest in Europe after Germany and France. The industry is increasingly international and 90% of UK chemicals output is exported; 60% of these exports are to the EU.
	The Government is creating the conditions for the chemicals sector to build on this position by encouraging higher levels of innovation, exports, business investment and technical skills as well as cutting excessive red tape. The plan for growth announced as part of Budget 2011, included a package of measures to stimulate growth, including:
	Creating the most competitive tax system in the G20
	Making the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
	Encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
	Creating a more dedicated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe
	In addition to these national actions, we have created Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPS) which provide the vision, knowledge and strategic leadership needed to drive sustainable private sector growth and job creation in their area. There are five LEPS covering the North West. These business public sector partnerships are focussed on supporting local chemical businesses which will encourage investment in the sector.
	On a regional level we have also launched the Regional Growth Fund (RGF). The first two rounds of the RGF produced winning applicants from the chemicals sectors in the North West—link as follows. We have also announced a £1 billion extension of the RGF which will open this month to which applicants from the North West are welcome.
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/economic-development/regional-growth-fund/successful-2nd-round-bids
	The chemicals sector is included as a priority area in the new UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), five year strategy—“Britain Open for Business”. A new trade specialist from business is, in consultation with industry, reviewing international opportunities and UK capability and will produce an action plan for capturing more business.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), and UKTI officials work together on a number of inward investment and export oriented projects that cover the North West.
	The Government also consults closely with the industry to ensure that barriers to trade it encounters are addressed in multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations led by the European Commission as well as through bilateral UK contacts with third countries.

Chemicals: North West

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value to the economy of the chemical industry in the North West.

Mark Prisk: Latest regional financial figures (2009) suggest that the chemicals industry in the north-west generated nearly £7 billion in turnover and contributed around £1.8 billion in value added to the UK economy. Employment data show that in 2010 the north-west chemicals industry had a total employment of 21,000.

Departmental Recruitment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2012, Official Report, column 332W, on departmental recruitment, how much of the £916,025 spent on recruitment agencies was spent on agency (a) fees and (b) staff.

Edward Davey: Not all of the invoices that make up the £916,025 spent on recruitment agencies provide a breakdown between agency fees and staff costs. Therefore an answer to the question can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Higher Education: Electricity

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which universities are contracted to provide electricity on demand to STOR aggregators.

David Willetts: holding answer 26 January 2012
	This information is not held centrally.

Higher Education: Finance

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of expenditure on recurrent grant for teaching in higher education paid via the Higher Education Funding Council for England in (a) cash terms and (b) 2011-12 values in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16.

David Willetts: The annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was published last week. It confirmed an allocation for teaching grant of £4.6 billion in 2011-12, £3.8billion in 2012-13 and gave an indicative allocation for 2013-14 of £2.9 billion. The Government estimates that by 2014-15 funding to HE institutions from teaching grant will be around £2 billion. The funding beyond 2015 is subject to the next spending review. In 2011-12 values these figures in each year of the spending review are £4.6 billion, £3.7 billion, £2.8 billion and £1.9 billion respectively, and they represent a significant contribution to tackling the deficit. However, as a consequence of the funding reforms the Government have implemented, we expect this to be more than offset by the additional income that HE institutions will receive through Government-backed tuition fee loans.

Manufacturing Industries: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to support the manufacturing industry in the West Midlands.

Mark Prisk: The Government have been supporting manufacturing in the West Midlands through programmes such as the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) and for exceptional projects through the Grant for Business Investment (GBI) scheme. Funding has been provided to a number of firms undertaking major investments in the region in research and development and/or new equipment and facilities. Among the businesses which have received support are Jaguar Land Rover, Ceram and Zytek. A £1 billion increase in the Regional Growth Fund was announced as part of the Autumn Statement of 29 November 2011, Official Report , columns 799-810. The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative, announced in December 2011, will support investment in training to improve skills as well as expenditure on research and development and capital equipment.
	Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), manufacturing businesses in the West Midlands can also take advantage of our new streamlined Solutions for Business portfolio: eligible companies can gain support in areas such as training and skill development, resource efficiency, exploiting ideas, accessing international opportunities and growing your business. For example, we have just launched the Business Coaching for Growth programme, which aims to help up to 10,000 high growth businesses a year to address barriers to growth and grow more rapidly.
	The new Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), which was announced on 3 January, offers SMEs practical support on all aspects of manufacturing, including direct access to manufacturing experts with a proven track record. As one of the UK's main manufacturing regions the West Midlands is expected to be a major beneficiary of the new MAS.

Renewable Energy: Investment

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what plans he has to assess investments in (a) wave and tidal technology and (b) other innovative energy products against the criteria of additionality;
	(2)  what plans he has to assess (a) wave and tidal technology and (b) other innovative energy projects against the criteria of green impact.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 January 2012, Official Report, column 299-300W.

Students: Finance

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of (a) public expenditure on and (b) the face value student (i) maintenance and (ii) tuition fee loans in (A) cash terms and (B) 2011-12 values in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16.

David Willetts: Department estimates of (a) resource costs and (b) cash outlay on student maintenance and tuition fee loans between 2011-12 and 2015-16, consistent with the impact assessment published alongside the 2011 Higher Education White Paper, are as follows:
	
		
			 (£ million) 
			  11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 
			 Cash outlay maintenance loans      
			 Cash 3,100 3,200 3,300 3,450 3,550 
			 11-12 prices 3,100 3,100 3,150 3,200 3,200 
			       
			 Fee loans      
			 Cash 2,650 3,550 5,050 6,350 7,250 
			 11-12 prices 2,650 3,450 4,800 5,900 6,550 
		
	
	
		
			       
			 Resource maintenance loans      
			 Cash 850 900 1,000 1,100 1,150 
			 11-12 prices 850 900 950 1,000 1,050 
			       
			 Fee loans      
			 Cash 700 1,050 1,600 2,150 2,500 
			 11-12 prices 700 1,000 1,550 2,000 2,250

Students: Finance

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on the resource accounting and budgeting charge on student loans made to (a) current and (b) new students from 2010 of changes in assumptions and modelling of student loan repayments described in his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11.

David Willetts: The Department's annual report sets out a number of changes to the assumptions and modelling of student loan repayments that were made in 2010-11. The two key changes were:
	(i) to adjust the methodology to use the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) short term forecasts for RPI and average earnings growth;
	(ii) to provide for the impact of the lower interest charge to borrowers as a result of the low Bank of England base rate.
	The valuation is based on the best estimate of the present value of future repayments over the repayment term (25 years for post-06/07 students and to age 65 for pre-06/07 students).
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills issued £5.6 billion of new loans to students in 2010-11. The resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) charge on these loans was 33%. This compares to the original RAB charge of 28% and resulted in a decrease in the valuation of around £300 million. The pre 2010-11 stock of loans was decreased by around £2.3 billion as a result of these changes, producing a final loan book (impaired) value of £25 billion at 31 March 2011.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 231W, on third sector, on what dates the joint Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Cabinet Office Steering Group has met; what was discussed at each meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The first meeting of the Every Business Commits Steering Group was on 18 January 2012 and the Group agreed terms of reference setting out its leadership and oversight roles. The meeting also heard updates on the business-led initiatives Business Connectors and Trading for Good, and a presentation about business-led standards for transparent information on social and environmental impacts. The Group will now meet quarterly.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many unpaid and expenses-only interns the non-departmental bodies for which his Department is responsible employed between May and November 2010.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 31 January 2012
	During the period May 2010 and November 2010, none of the Cabinet Office NDPBs that existed at the time employed unpaid and/or expenses only interns.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions he has had with what outcomes with the (a) Chairman and (b) Secretary of the Chilcot Inquiry about the recall of Tony Blair to the Committee; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The Iraq Inquiry is independent of Government. While the Government continue to give the Inquiry their full co-operation, it is entirely a matter for the Inquiry whether or not to hold further hearings or to recall witnesses. Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues have had any discussions with the Inquiry Chairman, Sir John Chilcot, or the Secretary to the Inquiry about this matter. Sir John stated publicly on 2 February 2011 that the Inquiry had no plans for any further public hearings. I understand that that remains the Inquiry's position.

JCB

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contracts the Government has awarded to JCB and its associates since May 2010; and what the (a) net and (b) individual value of each such contract was.

Nick Hurd: Since January 2011, as part of the Government's programme to increase transparency, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award. Contracts Finder also provides access to procurement information published on Tenders Electronic Daily. The following table summarises contracts award notices originally published on Tender Electronic Daily and imported into Contract Finder. Further information is held by the relevant public sector bodies.
	Please note the result of this search indicates no contracts were awarded to JCB from central Government, however a number were awarded, from the wider public sector as follows:
	
		
			 Supplier Procuring authority Contract Value (£) 
			 JCB Finance Ltd Reading borough council Financial leasing services 900,000 
			 Watling JCB Ltd Warwickshire county council Transport equipment 539,364 
			 JCB Finance Ltd Bridgend county borough council Financial leasing services 225,000 
		
	
	
		
			 BC Plant JCB Finance and Personnel, Northern Ireland Supply and delivery of 23-25 tonne excavator (1)148,714 
			 Scot JCB Ltd Tayside Procurement Consortium Grounds-maintenance equipment 23,500 
			 Greenshields JCB Ltd Braintree district council Grounds-maintenance equipment (2)— 
			 Scot JCB Ltd Aberdeenshire council Tractors (2)— 
			 Scot JCB Ltd West Lothian council Lawnmowers (2)— 
			 Scot JCB Ltd East Ayrshire council Motor vehicles (2)— 
			 Holt JCB Ltd Joint Procurement Unit Agricultural and horticultural products (2)— 
			 (1) Tenders Electronic Daily entry shows value between £112,764 and up to £148,714. (2) No data.

Public Bodies: Debts

Andrew Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of debt owed to public bodies which is written off as uncollectable.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office is providing fresh leadership and focus on tackling debt owed to public bodies, including that which is written off. This is being done through the Fraud, Error and Debt Taskforce, which is chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude). This cross-Whitehall group has membership from three other Ministers: the Minister for Welfare Reform at Department for Work and Pensions my noble Friend the Lord Freud, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Gauke), and the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (James Brokenshire), as well as senior officials from across the major Departments, representatives from the private sector and local authorities.
	The Taskforce has taken steps to understand the scale and distribution of debt owed to public bodies including write-offs, and is now focused on helping public bodies to be more consistent and collaborative in tackling this issue in an efficient and effective manner.

Public Sector: Pay

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish details of the (a) net and (b) individual value of bonuses over £1,000 awarded within the public sector since May 2010.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office has no plans to publish such details at present for the wider public sector. In the civil service, Departments and agencies have published details of non-consolidated performance related payments made to their staff for the performance year 2010-11. This information was published on departmental websites and linked to:
	www.data.gov.uk
	in October 2011.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing Benefit

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 137W, on housing benefit, if he will estimate the number of properties available for social tenants seeking to downsize due to under-occupation.

Grant Shapps: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 137W.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to provide support for homeowners at risk of repossession.

Grant Shapps: The Government are helping homeowners in difficulty by tackling the record deficit, inherited from the last Administration, to prevent a rapid increase in interest rates hitting struggling households.
	The Government are committed to working closely with lenders, debt advice agencies and local authorities to ensure that repossession is only ever a last resort and that effective help and advice for homeowners at risk of repossession is available. The options available to households are outlined at:
	www.direct.gov.uk/mortgagehelp
	The Government continue to provide direct financial support to struggling homeowners through Support for Mortgage Interest.
	The Department of Communities and Local Government has extended the Mortgage Rescue Scheme which enables the most vulnerable homeowners at risk of repossession to remain in their homes. The October 2010 spending review confirmed £221 million to continue the scheme over the next two years. £86 million has been made available for 2011-12 and a further £86 million will be made available for 2012-13. Changes introduced in 2011 have reduced the unit cost enabling more households to benefit from the scheme.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average cost of building a (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four bed home for social rent by (i) land and (ii) building cost.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 30 January 2012
	The Right to Buy draft Impact Assessment provides estimates based on the successful bids in Affordable Rent Programme. The average scheme cost of new social and affordable housing is estimated to range from £133,000 to £150,000 per home (England average).
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/reinvigoratingrighttobuy
	We are unable to break this estimate down by homes according to the number of bedrooms, or by land and building costs.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Copyright

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the economic effect to the creative industries of implementing the proposal to (a) introduce an exception from copyright law for data mining and (b) widen the exception from copyright law for criticism and review.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Initial impact assessments on each of the copyright issues, including data mining and criticism and review, have been prepared with the advice of Government economists, using publicly available data. The Government invite interested parties to respond to the Government's copyright consultation, which runs until 21 March 2012, and to submit economic evidence of the impacts of these proposals may have on creators and users of copyright materials to help refine our analysis. The consultation and the accompanying initial impact assessments are available in the Libraries of the House and on the website of the Intellectual Property Office.

Olympic Games 2012: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to ensure benefits arising from the London 2012 Olympics accrue to the devolved regions.

Hugh Robertson: Government officials, and the Nations and Regions Group which includes representation from each of the Nations and English regions, are in regular contact with officials in the devolved Administrations on a range of issues relating to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In my capacity as Minister for Sport and the Olympics, I have discussed the London 2012 Games with the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure for Northern Ireland in October. In March I also met with, the then Minister, Nelson McCausland, while on a regional visit.
	UK Nations and Regions are making the most of the opportunities and benefits from the sporting, economic, and cultural programmes provided by the games, for example, through businesses winning games-related work, increased tourism, Pre Games Training Camps, the Torch Relay, the Inspire programme and cultural celebrations.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the Statement of Intent on Carrier Co-operation and Maritime Power Projection with the US;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost of the operations with the US on training covered by the Statement of Intent on Carrier Co-operation and Maritime Power Projection in each year up to 2020;
	(3)  if he will estimate the cost of the number of personnel who will be assigned to training covered by the Statement of Intent on Carrier Co-operation and Maritime Power Projection; and what training they will receive.

Peter Luff: The Statement of Intent, jointly signed at Defence Secretary level on 5 January 2012, provides a high level framework for US/UK co-operation as the UK regenerates a carrier strike capability. Principal co-operative activities, including training, will be taken forward progressively through the working group structure established by the Statement of Intent and may, if necessary, be subject to separate and specific agreements. It is not possible at this early stage to provide estimates of costs that might arise from co-operative activities undertaken within the framework of the Statement of Intent.
	The document will be placed in the Library of the House.

Aircraft Carriers

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2012, Official Report, column 416W, on aircraft carriers, whether his Department has conducted, or plans to conduct, investigations into the compatibility of advanced arresting gear with the Joint Combat Aircraft; and whether it has contributed, or intends to contribute, resources to investigations carried out by the US;
	(2)  on what date his Department was first made aware of compatibility issues in relation to the advanced arresting gear and the Joint Combat Aircraft.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence is aware of the F35C Arrestor Hook compatibility issues, which came to light during Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) testing in August 2011. Discoveries of this nature can only be expected during development of such complex technology and design solutions to the Arrestor Hook arrangements are already well advanced. These will be tested and proven as part of the ongoing JSF development test programme, in which the UK is fully engaged as a level one partner, with approximately 40 civilian and military personnel embedded across various US sites.

Armed Forces: Life Insurance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of the soldiers who served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq were covered by PAX life insurance but with fewer than 15 units of insurance;
	(2)  how many soldiers who have served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq did so while being covered by PAX life insurance;
	(3)  how many soldiers who have served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq served without having PAX life insurance or any other life insurance;
	(4)  how many soldiers who have served in the conflict in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq were killed without having either PAX life insurance or any other life insurance.

Andrew Robathan: I will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	Substantive answer from Andrew Robathan to Jim Murphy:
	I undertook to write to you on 16 January 2012, Official Report, column 437W, in answer to your question about PAX, and other insurance held by service personnel serving in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, the data requested can be found as follows:
	
		
			 Afghanistan 
			  Number 
			 Served with less than 15 units of PAX Insurance 26,400 
			 Served with PAX Insurance 55,900 
			 Served without PAX or any other life insurance (1)35,600 
			 Killed without PAX or any other life insurance (1)50 
		
	
	
		
			 Iraq 
			  Number 
			 Served with less than 15 units of PAX Insurance 6,400 
			 Served with PAX Insurance 9,500 
			 Served without PAX or any other life insurance (1)10,300 
			 Killed without PAX or any other life insurance (1,2)— 
			 (1) Figures provided relate solely to PAX life insurance as data about other life insurance that may have been taken out is not held. (2) ‘—’ = Represents five or fewer. Notes: 1. For the purposes of the reply all members of the armed forces, irrespective of service, have been included. The data are provided from 1 April 2007 onward as information prior to this date is not held. 2. With the exception of data for the number of personnel killed in Afghanistan (which have been rounded to the nearest 10), other figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. 3. Some personnel recorded as not having PAX insurance may nonetheless be covered by their spouses PAX insurance (i.e. where both husband and wife are serving members of the armed forces). 4. Personnel whose location details are deliberately obscured for security reasons will not be reflected in the data.

Departmental Allowances

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has any plans to remove the London allowance for its civil servants who live in London.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 30 January 2012
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remunerates civilian staff through a London pay scale and through the payment of London weighting allowance. Both allowances are paid to staff who work in London. The MOD has no current plans to remove either of these payments.

Departmental Recruitment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, columns 18-19W, on departmental recruitment, how much of the £21,926.18 spent on recruitment agencies was spent on agency (a) fees and (b) staff.

Andrew Robathan: All of the expenditure reported in my previous answer covered recruitment agency fees.

Departmental Work Experience

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work experience or traineeship schemes his Department offers to minority groups.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) participates in the civil service summer diversity internship programme which aims to provide high calibre undergraduates or graduates with six to eight week work placements within Departments. In its current format it provides opportunities for black and ethnic minority and (lower) socio-economic students. Further information about this scheme can be found at the following link:
	http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/Summer-Diversity-Internships/
	In 2011, the MOD also participated in a separate pilot cross-Whitehall scheme, aimed at sixth form college level students (16 to 18-year-olds). This offered four two-week placements for individuals from under-represented backgrounds. Following the success of the pilot, the MOD will continue to support this scheme.

Diamond Jubilee 2012: Medals

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to award the Queen's Jubilee Medal to all military personnel who have served for four years in combat operations;
	(2)  for what reason the minimum required military service for the Queen's Jubilee Medal is set at five years.

Andrew Robathan: The Department for Culture Media and Sport announced on 28 June 2011 the Government's intention to award and distribute a diamond jubilee medal. Medals are traditionally awarded for royal jubilees to recognise and reward the service and dedication of key front line services and, in particular, to those who are exposed regularly to difficult, often emergency situations and who potentially risk their lives.
	The announcement made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), stated that members of the armed forces (regular and reserves) who have completed five full calendar years of service, and are serving on 6 February 2012, will be presented with a medal to mark Her Majesty the Queen's diamond jubilee. These criteria are consistent with the approach adopted for earlier jubilee medals, such as the golden jubilee in 2002.

Ex-servicemen: Resettlement

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the careers advice provided to service personnel upon the conclusion of their service.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence fully understands that making the transition from the armed forces into civilian life can be daunting and we remain committed to supporting service leavers in making this important step. Critical to this is having in place a robust and effective resettlement system that allows our service personnel to serve secure in the knowledge that they will receive professional and tailored assistance upon leaving.
	To monitor the quality of the careers advice we offer our people, there are in place a number of governance procedures, through nationally recognised accreditation standards as well as internal monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. As a result, 95% of entitled service personnel who are leaving the armed forces elect to use the advice we offer them.

Harrier Aircraft: Sales

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2012, Official Report, column 940W, on Harrier aircraft, 
	(1)  what monetary value was given to the associated support equipment included in the sale of the Harrier aircraft;
	(2)  what the original cost was of the associated support equipment included in the sale of the Harrier aircraft to the US; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which company or companies invoiced his Department for (a) £0.7 million and (b) £0.4 million for consultancy services associated with the sale of Harrier aircraft to the US; what the consultancy services provided were; and how many hours of work, by how many consultants, these payments were for.

Peter Luff: The sale value of 72 Harrier airframes spares and associated support equipment to the US Government was negotiated and agreed as a consolidated package.
	The majority of support equipment used to support the former Harrier fleet has been acquired since 1996 but information on the original purchase cost is no longer held. At the time of the sale to the US Government the value of support equipment recorded on the Ministry of Defence Supply Central Computer System (SCCS) was approximately £15 million. However, not all equipment used to support the Harrier is registered on the SCCS.
	External assistance to both the termination of the Harrier contracts (£0.7 million) and the disposal of the aircraft (£0.4 million) was obtained through an existing contract with AlixPartners. The support provided covered the provision of specialist negotiation assistance in the closure of the Harrier airframe and engine contracts, and negotiation advice and assistance in the preparation for, and conduct of, sale negotiations with the US. This was provided by a core of three consultants, with occasional additional support from two senior partners and represented a total of 206 man-days.

Military Aircraft

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 947W, on military aircraft, when he expects to publish the findings of the capability investigation on maritime surveillance capability; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has completed its capability investigation into its long term requirements for maritime surveillance capability, but I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Data Protection

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases of data loss or breaches of confidentiality occurred in his Office in 2011.

Nicholas Clegg: For the purposes of corporate administration and financial management, my office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 176W.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with representatives of each main political party on bringing forward the date for the introduction of individual electoral registration to 2014.

Nicholas Clegg: No such meetings have taken place.

EU Action

Ian Lucas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2012, Official Report, column 327W, on EU action, who attended the bilateral meetings held in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister.

Nicholas Clegg: The bilateral meetings that I held in my capacity as Deputy Prime Minister were attended by a private secretary and a special adviser from my office.

EDUCATION

Children: Protection

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children on the child protection plan had experienced (a) neglect, (b) emotional abuse, (c) physical abuse, (d) multiple abuses and (e) sexual abuse in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: The available figures are given in the table.
	
		
			 Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March each year, by initial category of abuse 
			 Year ending 31 March Total children Neglect Physical abuse Sexual abuse Emotional abuse Multiple (1) 
			 2007 27,900 12,500 3,500 2,000 7,100 2,700 
			 2008 29,200 13,400 3,400 2,000 7,900 2,500 
			 2009 34,100 15,800 4,400 2,000 9,100 2,900 
			 2010 39,100 17,300 5,000 2,300 10,800 3,700 
			 2011 42,700 18,600 4,800 2,400 11,400 5,500 
			 (1) Four categories of abuse are described in 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' guide (2010) and it is recommended that only the main category of abuse should be recorded. However in some cases more than one category is recorded and these are shown in the 'Multiple' column. Sources: 1. 2007, 2008 and 2009 CPR3 return. 2. 2010, 2011 Children in Need census. 
		
	
	Information on children who are the subject of a child protection plan up to 2008-09 is taken from the aggregate level CPR3 survey of local authorities and can be found in the Statistical First Release 'Referrals, assessments and children and young people who were the subject of a child protection plan, England—year ending 31 March 2009' available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000873/index.shtml
	From 2009-10 onwards figures are sourced from the annual child level Children in Need census. The latest figures (2011) are published in table 20 of the Statistical First Release 'Characteristics of Children in Need, 2010-11, Final' which is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001041/index.shtml
	Caution should be exercised therefore when making comparisons between 2008-09 and 2009-10 onwards.

Children: Protection

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were on the Child Protection Register in each region (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of all children in the last year for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: The available information is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Number and rate of children who were the subject of a child protection plan in each region in England, at 31 March 2011 
			 Region Number Rate per 10,000 children (aged 0-17 years) Percentage of all children in region (aged 0-17 years) 
			 Total England 42,700 38.7 0.4 
			 North-east 2,700 51.0 0.5 
			 North-west 6,300 42.5 0.4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4,400 40.0 0.4 
			 East midlands 3,600 38.3 0.4 
			 West midlands 4,900 41.2 0.4 
			 East of England 4,000 31.8 0.3 
			 London 6,500 38.6 0.4 
			 South-east 6,800 37.2 0.4 
			 South-west 3,600 33.9 0.3 
			 Note: The number of children who were the subject of a children protection plan are rounded to the nearest 100 therefore regional figures may not sum to England total. Source: DFE Children in Need census, 2010-11, and ONS Population Estimates Unit. 
		
	
	The rate per 10,000 children in each region is also provided, in addition to the percentage of all children, as this is the standard measure published annually. Figures for the number of children who were the subject of a child protection plan are collected annually from local authorities through the child level Children in Need census. These figures are published annually in table 18 of the Statistical First Release 'Characteristics of Children in Need, 2010-11, Final' which is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001041/index.shtml

Children: Social Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many referrals to children's social care services took place in each region (a) in total and (b) per 10,000 children in the last year for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: The available information is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Referrals to children's social services, year ending 31 March 2011 
			 Region Number of referrals (1) Rate per 10,000 children (aged 0-17 years) 
			 Total England 615,000 556.8 
			    
			 North-east 30,800 590.4 
			 North-west 91,400 620.2 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 69,200 626.5 
			 East midlands 52,100 560.1 
			 West midlands 74,300 621.6 
			 East of England 56,600 455.1 
			 London 89,200 525.9 
			 South-east 98,400 538.6 
			 South-west 53,200 503.6 
			 (1) If a child has more than one referral in the year then each instance is counted. Source: DFE Children in Need census, 2010-11, and ONS Population Estimates Unit. Referral numbers are rounded to the nearest 100 therefore regional figures may not sum to England total. 
		
	
	Figures for the number of referrals to children's social services are collected annually from local authorities through the child level Children in Need census. These figures are published annually in table 14 of the Statistical First Release 'Characteristics of Children in Need, 2010-11, Final' which is-available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001041/index.shtm

Children: Social Services

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of expenditure by each local authority (a) overall and (b) per head of population on Sure Start and children's services in each of the last 10 years.

Sarah Teather: The Department for Education does not have a record of the overall expenditure by local authorities on Sure Start and children's services for each of the last 10 years. Data on expenditure per head of population in local authorities over the last 10 years are also not available.
	However, expenditure by local authorities on some children's services is recorded in the Section 251 return which is available at:
	http://education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/financeandfunding/section251/archive
	Prior to April 2011 funding for Sure Start was routed through a series of ring-fenced grants. Local Authorities' expenditure through these grants on Sure Start children's centres and other child care activities and support up to 2009-10 are shown in tables 1 to 3, which have been placed in the House Libraries. The local authority allocations for 2010-11 are also shown in table 3.
	Since 2011-12, the Early Intervention Grant has replaced numerous ring-fenced funding streams related to children, young people and families. It is now up to local authorities to choose how to make best use of their resources, taking account of their statutory duties and local needs. The allocations for each local authority are available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/a0070357/early-intervention-grant-frequently-asked-questions/

Health Education: Mental Illness

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of mental health disorders in schools.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 31 January 2012
	The Government acknowledge the link between mental health, good academic outcomes and later life chances, and recognise the valuable role schools can play in supporting children's mental health. We want to ensure schools are aware of the role they can play and have access to services that support children and young people.
	The Department is carrying out a range of work that will increase awareness of mental health in schools. We are engaging with schools, local authorities and the voluntary and community sector to understand their experiences of providing and accessing mental health support better. We are strengthening work force development and ensuring schools know where to get help by investing in the Voluntary and community sector—through YoungMinds—to work with schools, parents, children and young people displaying emotional and behavioural difficulties to develop a framework for support. We are also funding a YoungMinds-led consortium to build voluntary and community sector capacity to deliver early intervention mental health support to children and young people.
	The new Ofsted Framework 2012 requires inspectors to report on the impact of: leadership at all levels, progress of disadvantaged groups, behaviour, safety and safeguarding, and schools relationship with parents and carers. Having a sound approach to supporting children's emotional well-being and mental health will play a significant part in getting all of these right.
	Alongside this, we are working closely with the Department of Health, which is funding Time to Change to take forward work to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination. This work includes a focus on reaching children and young people, and also their peers, families, relevant agencies, schools, NHS services (including A&E and GPs) and groups of vulnerable children and young people. We are working with the Department of Health to determine what this means for schools and to ensure that this is child and young person-appropriate.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Community Energy Saving Programme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the emissions reduction achieved in the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) since it started; and what proportion of the overall CESP target has been met.

Gregory Barker: The last published Ofgem figures show that emission reductions achieved to June 2011 are estimated at 1.4 MtCO2, representing 7.2% of the target. Ofgem estimates that the CESP schemes submitted for approval to June 2011 amounted to around 50% of the total notional CESP target of 19.25 MtCO2.
	Ofgem will be publishing updated figures to the end of 2011 as part of their annual report on CESP progress in May this year. The precise amount of carbon dioxide saved under the CESP will not be known until the completion of the reconciliation exercise after the programme ends in 2012.

Departmental Data Protection

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many cases of data loss or breaches of confidentiality occurred in his Department in 2011.

Gregory Barker: No cases of data loss or breaches of confidentiality occurred in the Department in 2011.

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has agreed any contracts with (a) private hire vehicle and (b) taxi companies since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), has not agreed any contracts with private hire vehicle companies or taxi companies since May 2010.
	Departmental staff have used the following companies on an ad-hoc basis; Addison Lee, Balmoral Transport service, Business Car Hire, Computer cab PLC, Dial a cab, Government Car and Despatch Agency and Green Tomato Cars Ltd.

Energy

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of the total domestic energy needs which will be met by (a) gas and (b) electricity in each of the next 20 years.

Charles Hendry: As part of its annual emissions and energy projections DECC publish different scenarios for energy consumption. The scenarios are based on a number of assumptions and take account of energy and climate change policies where decisions on policy design are sufficiently advanced to allow robust estimates of policy impacts to be made before October 2011. The following table shows the numbers for the central scenario published in October 2011.
	The projections do not include additional policies to meet the 4th carbon budget. DECC has published scenarios on ways to meet the 4th carbon budget and pathways to 2050 targets in the Carbon Plan published in December 2011:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/tackling-climate-change/carbon-plan/3702-the-carbon-plan-delivering-our-low-carbon-future.pdf
	Assumptions underlying the estimates in the table are described in detail in DECC
	updated ‘Energy and Emissions Projections’ publication 2011 available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/en_emis_projs/en_emis_projs.aspx
	The following table summarises the projected consumption of electricity, gas and total energy over the period 2012-30.
	
		
			 Projected shares of electricity and gas in UK final energy consumption (2012-30)—central scenario (DECC Energy and Emissions Projections October 2011) 
			  Electricity Gas 
			 2012 18.8 34.0 
			 2013 18.8 33.5 
			 2014 18.9 33.0 
			 2015 19.0 32.5 
			 2016 19.0 32.0 
			 2017 19.1 31.5 
			 2018 19.2 30.9 
			 2019 19.3 30.2 
			 2020 19.4 29.4 
			 2021 19.5 29.5 
			 2022 19.7 29.4 
			 2023 19.9 29.3 
			 2024 20.0 29.4 
			 2025 20.2 29.6 
			 2026 20.4 29.8 
			 2027 20.8 30.1 
			 2028 21.1 30.5 
			 2029 21.3 30.8 
			 2030 21.6 31.0

Energy: Conservation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to reduce the costs of green energy.

Gregory Barker: If we are to combat climate change, secure our energy supplies and seize the economic opportunities that green industries offer, it is vital that we increase the proportion of low-carbon or “green” energy in the economy, as well as improve energy efficiency. The coalition Government are committed to ensuring that this happens in the most cost-effective and affordable way. Some examples of the steps being taken to reduce and control the costs of low-carbon energy include:
	Reviewing the levels of support ('RO bands') under the renewables obligation, with a focus on delivering renewable energy to help meet the 2020 renewables target in a cost-effective manner in order to minimise costs to consumers. The RO banding review consultation closed on 12 January 2012, and the Government will assess any new evidence and the consultation responses before announcing the final decisions in the Government response in time to enact legislation for implementation of the new bands on 1 April 2013.
	Proposals for electricity market reform that will provide a more cost-effective means of decarbonising electricity supplies and keeping the lights on.
	Funding technology innovation to bring down the costs of low-carbon technologies and develop new technologies. DECC has allocated over £150 million over the four years from April 2011 to support innovation in key low-carbon technologies. In total, the UK Government expect to invest in excess of £800 million over four years in the research, development and demonstration of low-carbon technologies.
	Introducing a framework to control levy funded spending by DECC at Budget 2011. This framework, covering the renewables obligation, feed-in tariff scheme and the Warm Home Discount, forms part of the Government's public spending framework which the Treasury has responsibility for.
	Steps are also being taken to keep energy bills down for all consumers by helping them to save energy, with particular support targeted at the most vulnerable households and businesses. For example, the new Green Deal scheme will help households and businesses save money through energy efficiency improvements at no upfront cost.
	In aggregate, policies are estimated to help households save money in future. DECC estimates that in 2020 the average household energy bill is expected to be 7%, or £94 (in real 2010 prices), lower than if the Government were not pursuing policies to achieve energy savings and incentivise the shift from fossil fuels to alternatives—see:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/about-us/economics-social-research/3593-estimated-impacts-of-our-policies-on-energy-prices.pdf
	A net saving will start from around 2013 and, over the remaining lifetime of this Parliament, average household bills will be lower than they otherwise would be, as a result of energy and climate policies.

Fuel Poverty

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what support the energy company obligation will provide to people in low-paid work who are at risk of fuel poverty but not receiving benefits.

Gregory Barker: Government held a consultation on the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation from 23 November 2011 to 18 January 2012. Under the proposals set out, the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation will allow households to access energy efficiency measures at no up-front cost, providing extra assistance to those who need it most. We have proposed that the Affordable Warmth element of ECO should be targeted at low income and vulnerable households, using means tested benefits as one of the best means of identifying those likely to be fuel poor. Under our proposals, all households would be able to access the support available under the carbon reduction element of ECO—including those in low-paid work who are at risk of fuel poverty but not receiving benefits.
	We are considering carefully responses to this consultation and the final details of the policy will be published in due course.

Green Deal

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the expected level of take-up for the Green Deal in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) consultation was published on 23 November 2011. The Government's assessment of the impact of these policies was published in the accompanying draft impact assessment:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/green-deal/3603-green-deal-eco-ia.pdf
	The Green Deal will be a market based mechanism, therefore actual levels of uptake will be driven by players in the market, and not regulated by Government. For the purpose of the draft impact assessment, the analysis of the central policy scenario estimated the following level of Green Deal uptake:
	
		
			  Number of  green deal  plans 
			 2013 460,000 
			 2014 502,000 
			 2015 504,000 
		
	
	The analysis combined a range of evidence and assumptions. In particular, it was assumed that there were no supply chain constraints restricting the delivery of energy efficiency measures. During the consultation, DECC is seeking responses to strengthen the evidence base underlying our assessments, and new evidence will be factored into the analysis for the final impact assessment.

Insulation: Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of new loft insulation installations in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016.

Gregory Barker: DECC's current estimates for the uptake of loft insulation can be found in the following link to the impact assessment, which was published alongside the Green Deal and ECO consultation document in November 2011:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/green_deal/green_deal.aspx
	The impact assessment is being reviewed to take account of consultation responses and new evidence, and a final version will be published alongside the Government response.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to make a decision on the inclusion of bioliquids in the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Gregory Barker: As stated in the Renewable Heat Incentive policy document (published in March), we are considering whether to support bioliquids as part of developing the second phase of the scheme. In the light of the later than expected launch of phase one of the Renewable Heat Incentive and of the changes required by the European Commission, we are reviewing the timetable for the introduction of phase two and will confirm the timetable early in 2012.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has had discussions with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive on bioliquids and the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Gregory Barker: DECC officials have had general discussions with their counterparts at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Northern Ireland) about the Renewable Heat Incentive but there have been no discussions specifically about bioliquids.

Thermal Insulation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of new solid wall insulation installations in each year to 2020.

Gregory Barker: DECC's current estimates for the uptake of solid wall insulation can be found in the following link to the impact assessment, which was published alongside the Green Deal and ECO consultation document in November 2011.
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/green_deal/green_deal.aspx
	The impact assessment is being reviewed to take account of consultation responses and new evidence, and a final version will be published alongside the Government response.

Thermal Insulation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of new cavity wall insulation installations in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016.

Gregory Barker: DECC's current estimates for the uptake of cavity wall insulation can be found in the following link to the impact assessment, which was published alongside the Green Deal and ECO consultation document in November 2011:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/green_deal/green_deal.aspx
	The impact assessment is being reviewed to take account of consultation responses and new evidence, and a final version will be published alongside the Government response.

Water Turbines

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential for the use of water turbines to generate electricity; and whether he has considered the effect of the use of such turbines on fish sea stocks.

Gregory Barker: The Department does not undertake assessments of the potential use of water turbines to generate electricity. Project developers intending to deploy water turbines to generate electricity need to submit an environmental impact assessment (EIA) alongside their planning and consent application. The consenting bodies consider the potential impacts of the devices to be use on the local environment on a case by case basis. If consent is granted any mitigation measure considered necessary to protect the environment will form part of the consent conditions. It is very important that we strike the right balance between environmental protection and energy deployment.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Products: Prices

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual percentage change in the retail prices index was for (a) milk, (b) beef, (c) sheep meat, (d) pig meat, (e) chicken and (f) wheat in each year since 1990. [R]

James Paice: The following tables show the annual average retail price index (Jan 1987=100) and percentage change since the previous year for each commodity:
	
		
			  Bread Cereals Beef Pork Lamb Home-killed lamb Bacon Poultry Fresh milk 
			 1990 121.0 123.7 124.2 124.0 112.1 111.3 126.8 115.9 123.3 
			 1991 130.4 131.8 124.7 122.4 107.1 105.6 128.6 114.9 132.6 
			 1992 134.8 135.8 125.4 126.1 113.5 114.9 137.3 111.4 138.0 
			 1993 138.6 139.0 135.3 122.2 124.6 127.3 138.5 110.2 141.0 
			 1994 135.9 137.6 132.5 118.5 127.8 133.5 134.5 107.8 144.9 
			 1995 136.2 140.3 133.7 127.0 128.8 138.9 137.3 106.1 150.9 
			 1996 138.7 141.6 135.0 153.3 148.2 158.6 155.6 112.1 153.7 
			 1997 136.8 141.5 132.1 149.3 154.9 157.1 161.4 112.5 153.4 
			 1998 135.2 141.7 129.5 132.6 144.4 145.8 149.9 111.1 153.5 
			 1999 135.2 140.5 133.0 127.7 145.3 149.7 151.7 110.2 152.2 
			 2000 136.5 137.9 133.2 135.2 150.9 158.8 157.2 107.4 151.0 
			 2001 139.5 139.2 133.7 143.2 158.2 164.3 173.6 110.4 160.1 
			 2002 142.8 138.2 133.3 146.8 169.9 176.4 172.0 108.1 164.6 
			 2003 146.1 140.2 131.9 151.8 179.5 190.1 171.5 109.9 170.4 
			 2004 154.8 140.5 134.3 157.7 187.3 191.6 173.5 118.2 173.7 
			 2005 155.4 144.5 133.1 157.8 188.5 186.6 174.0 113.4 183.0 
			 2006 164.7 144.3 138.3 157.5 187.0 189.8 181.7 109.3 184.5 
			 2007 178.4 148.2 141.3 158.2 188.4 191.4 186.3 113.2 201.3 
			 2008 205.9 167.2 161.9 182.1 205.1 215.6 203.6 128.3 229.9 
			 2009 211.7 179.8 175.5 196.3 229.3 239.6 213.7 130.9 245.0 
			 2010 212.1 182.9 174.6 203.3 241.3 259.3 210.8 130.9 242.8 
			 2011 213.0 183.7 174.6 204.7 243.3 260.1 211.0 131.3 243.0 
		
	
	
		
			 Percentage change 
			  Bread Cereals Beef Pork Lamb Home-killed lamb Bacon Poultry Fresh milk 
			 1990-91 7.8 6.6 0.4 -1.3 -4.5 -5.1 1.4 -0.9 7.5 
			 1991-92 3.4 3.0 0.6 3.0 6.0 8.8 6.8 -3.1 4.1 
			 1992-93 2.8 2.4 7.9 -3.1 9.8 10.8 0.9 -1.1 2.2 
			 1993-94 -2.0 -1.0 -2.1 -3.0 2.6 4.9 -2.9 -2.2 2.8 
			 1994-95 0.2 2.0 0.9 7.2 0.8 4.0 2.1 -1.6 4.1 
			 1995-96 1.8 0.9 1.0 20.7 15.1 14.2 13.3 5.7 1.9 
			 1996-97 -1.4 -0.1 -2.2 -2.6 4.5 -1.0 3.7 0.4 -0.2 
			 1997-98 -1.2 0.1 -2.0 -11.2 -6.8 -7.2 -7.1 -1.2 0.1 
			 1998-99 0.0 -0.9 2.7 -3.7 0.6 2.7 1.2 -0.8 -0.9 
			 1999-2000 1.0 -1.9 0.2 5.9 3.9 6.1 3.6 -2.5 -0.8 
			 2000-01 2.2 0.9 0.4 5.9 4.8 3.5 10.4 2.8 6.0 
			 2001-02 2.4 -0.7 -0.3 2.5 7.4 7.4 -0.9 -2.1 2.8 
			 2002-03 2.3 1.4 -1.1 3.4 5.6 7.8 -0.3 1.6 3.5 
			 2003-04 6.0 0.2 1.8 3.9 4.3 0.8 1.2 7.6 2.0 
			 2004-05 0.4 2.9 -0.8 0.1 0.6 -2.6 0.3 -4.1 5.4 
			 2005-06 6.0 -0.2 3.9 -0.2 -0.8 1.7 4.4 -3.6 0.8 
		
	
	
		
			 2006-07 8.3 2.7 2.2 0.4 0.7 0.9 2.5 3.6 9.1 
			 2007-08 15.4 12.8 14.6 15.2 8.9 12.6 9.3 13.3 14.2 
			 2008-09 2.8 7.5 8.4 7.8 11.8 11.1 5.0 2.1 6.6 
			 2009-10 0.2 1.7 -0.5 3.6 5.2 8.3 -1.3 0.0 -0.9 
			 2010-11 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.7 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.1 
			 Source: Office of National Statistics

Agricultural Products: Prices

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual percentage change in the retail prices was for (a) milk, (b) beef, (c) sheep meat, (d) pig meat, (e) chicken and (f) wheat in each year since 1990. [R]

James Paice: I will place the information requested in the Library of the House.

Agricultural Products: Prices

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual percentage change in farm gate prices was for (a) milk, (b) beef, (c) sheep meat, (d) pig meat, (e) chicken and (f) wheat in each year since 1990. [R]

James Paice: The following tables show the annual UK prices (GB for sheep) and percentage change since the previous year for each commodity. The prices shown are actual prices and have not been adjusted for inflation:
	
		
			  Milk (pence per litre) (1) Milk percentage change Finished cattle (p/kg liveweight) (2) Cattle percentage change Sheep meat (p/kg) (3) Sheep meat percentage change 
			 1990 18.5 — 106.3 — 174.5 — 
			 1991 19.9 8 106.9 1 148.2 -15 
			 1992 21.0 6 109.6 3 182.1 23 
			 1993 22.0 5 128.0 17 219.0 20 
			 1994 22.4 2 121.7 -5 236.9 8 
			 1995 24.9 11 123.2 1 236.4 0 
			 1996 25.0 0 105.5 -14 283.1 20 
			 1997 22.1 -12 96.9 -8 239.0 -16 
			 1998 19.4 -12 86.1 -11 192.5 -19 
			 1999 18.3 -6 92.1 7 180.3 -6 
			 2000 16.9 -8 89.8 -2 196.4 9 
			 2001 19.3 14 87.5 -3 — — 
			 2002 17.1 -11 91.4 4 233.4 — 
			 2003 18.0 5 95.2 4 271.1 16 
			 2004 18.5 3 101.2 6 262.6 -3 
			 2005 18.5 0 102.2 1 250.0 -5 
			 2006 18.0 -3 110.6 8 258.5 3 
			 2007 20.7 15 112.3 2 236.8 -8 
			 2008 25.9 25 144.8 29 297.6 26 
			 2009 23.7 -8 154.6 7 360.4 21 
			 2010 (provisional) 24.7 4 147.2 -5 389.3 8 
			 (1) Farmgate price of milk including bonus payments—pence per litre. (2) Finished cattle (All prime cattle)—pence per kg liveweight (3) Finished sheep (GB prices)—pence per kg estimated dressed carcase weight Source: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 
		
	
	
		
			  Pig meat (p/kg) (1) Pig meat percentage change Chicken (p/kg) (2) Chicken percentage change Feed wheat (£/tonne) Feed wheat percentage change 
			 1990 — — 87.0 — 106.0 — 
			 1991 102.4 — 81.2 -7 117.1 10 
			 1992 115.1 12 83.0 2 117.9 1 
			 1993 103.0 -11 87.4 5 117.4 0 
			 1994 99.6 -3 87.4 0 102.4 -13 
			 1995 118.8 19 84.2 -4 110.2 8 
			 1996 137.7 16 91.0 8 111.0 1 
			 1997 110.8 -20 86.2 -5 89.0 -20 
			 1998 80.7 -27 76.7 -11 75.0 -16 
		
	
	
		
			 1999 78.5 -3 72.1 -6 73.0 -3 
			 2000 94.2 20 70.5 -2 65.9 -10 
			 2001 97.8 4 71.0 1 70.7 7 
			 2002 93.3 -5 69.7 -2 67.0 -5 
			 2003 102.7 10 72.2 4 68.7 3 
			 2004 102.9 0 74.1 3 77.8 13 
			 2005 102.9 0 73.2 -1 66.4 -15 
			 2006 104.2 1 71.9 -2 71.7 8 
			 2007 107.1 3 77.4 8 99.0 38 
			 2008 126.3 18 97.5 26 126.6 28 
			 2009 145.7 15 101.3 4 107.8 -15 
			 2010 (provisional) 141.7 -3 104.3 3 112.6 4 
			 (1 )Clean pigs—pence per kg deadweight. (2) Chicken and other table fowls—pence per kg carcase weight. Source: Agriculture in the United Kingdom

Agriculture: Employment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of people aged between 16 and 25 entering employment in the farming industry in each of the last five years.

James Paice: DEFRA does not hold this information.

Agriculture: Exports

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the meeting of the right hon. Member for Don Valley with the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food on 25 October 2011, what the membership of the project board overseeing the review entitled Third Country Exports Facilitation Project is; and what progress has been made on the review.

James Paice: The board for this project is chaired by the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer. Board members include: the British Poultry Council, Export Certification Limited, the Provision Trade Federation, the British Equestrian Federation, the devolved Administrations, the Chief Veterinary Officer's office, and representation from core DEFRA's and Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency's export certification teams. The project is identifying how the export certification service for animals and animal products at core DEFRA and the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency might be improved with a view to introducing changes from this autumn. It is also exploring options for transferring functions from Government to industry; how best to govern export certification work, and how the certification service should be funded. We expect to consult formally on proposals later this year.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the position of tenant farmers for the purposes of stewardship schemes under the Common Agricultural Policy in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; and what information her Department holds on the application of single farm payments to tenants in other EU member states.

James Paice: At this early stage in the CAP reform negotiation process, it is not possible to assess with any degree of accuracy the likely impact on tenant farmers.
	I have, however, pledged to do everything possible to make sure farmers are not disadvantaged because they have been ahead of the game on environmental management (such as having an Entry Level Stewardship agreement). If changes do have to be made to these agreements, we will want to make sure that farmers will be able to opt out without penalty.
	DEFRA does not hold information on the application of single farm payments to tenants in other EU member states.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the recent ruling of the Austrian Constitutional Court discussing an application brought by Circus Krone to challenge Austria's ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, what steps her Department will take to introduce a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.

James Paice: As previously explained to the House, we are minded to introduce a ban, but have to be sure that a ban cannot be overturned by legal challenge. The implications of the Austrian court judgment for the situation here are being considered very carefully. In the meantime, we are proposing a tough new licensing regime, which can be introduced quickly, to ensure high welfare standards.

Deer: Farms

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to promote deer farms.

James Paice: Deer farming is a viable part of the UK's agricultural industry. Land on which deer are reared is eligible to support payment claims under the Single Payment Scheme and deer farmers may also claim under a range of schemes set out in the UK rural development programme relevant to them. However, DEFRA has no plans actively to promote deer farms at present.

Fruit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on how many portions of (a) fresh fruit and (b) vegetables the average person in each socio-economic grouping consumes per day.

James Paice: DEFRA holds information on food purchases by socio-economic groupings. The following table is calculated from fruit and vegetable purchases for household supplies. It excludes potatoes and excludes fruit and vegetables contained in composite products and eaten out. A portion size is taken to be 80 grams based on purchase weight. It is a broad approximation to consumption of five a day portions.
	
		
			 National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS SEC), 2010 
			  Average number of portions per person per day 
			  Fresh fruit Processed fruit and fruit products (including fruit juice) Fresh vegetables Processed vegetables 
			 Employers in large organisations, higher managerial and professional occupations 1.5 0.9 1.5 0.6 
			 Employers in small organisations, own account workers 1.5 0.7 1.5 0.6 
			 Higher professional occupations 1.8 0.9 1.7 0.6 
			 Intermediate occupations 1.1 0.7 1.2 0.7 
			 Lower professional and managerial and higher technical and supervisory occupations 1,3 0.7 1.4 ¦ 0.7 
			 Lower supervisory and technical occupations 1.1 0.6 1.1 0.5 
			 Never worked, long term unemployed and unclassified 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.6 
			 Routine 0.9 0.5 1.1 0.6 
			 Semi-routine 1.0 0.4 1.1 0.5 
			 Source: Living Costs and Food Survey, DEFRA/ONS

Veterinary Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of veterinary surgeons in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: As of 25 January 2012, the number of veterinary surgeons currently registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as UK (Home) Practising is 18,529. Figures are not held separately for England and Wales and to provide them would incur a disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of intimidation of politicians and other senior officials in Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: Insurgency intimidation and targeting of Afghan politicians is a matter for the Afghan Government and local law enforcement. The UK, through International Security Assistance Force, continues to help develop the capability of the Afghanistan National Security Forces to enable them to provide security and protect all Afghan people.

Bahrain: Overseas Workers

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on allowing expatriate workers to work in order to repay debts.

Alistair Burt: The issue of travel bans, including in Bahrain, is one we take seriously. Our approach to travel bans is outlined in Support for British Nationals: A Guide, a copy of which was sent to you in September 2011. As Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice for Bahrain and elsewhere in the Middle East makes clear, non-payment of debt is viewed very seriously by host Governments, and travel bans can often be imposed. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised this issue with the Crown Prince in November 2010. I raised it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when I visited in December. Our embassy is in regular contact with those British nationals affected by travel bans, and continue to raise those cases with members of the Bahraini Government. We will continue to do all we can to urge the authorities to allow British nationals to be able to live and work legally in Bahrain while subject to a travel ban.

Bahrain: Overseas Workers

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on expatriate workers currently detained there as a result of debts.

Alistair Burt: The issue of travel bans, including in Bahrain, is one we take seriously. Our approach to travel bans is outlined in Support for British Nationals: A Guide, a copy of which was sent to you in September 2011. As Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice for Bahrain and elsewhere in the Middle East makes clear, non-payment of debt is viewed very seriously by host Governments, and travel bans can often be imposed. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised this issue with the Crown Prince in November 2010. I raised it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when I visited in December. Our embassy is in regular contact with those British nationals affected by travel bans, and continue to raise those cases with members of the Bahraini Government. We will continue to do all we can to urge the authorities to allow British nationals to be able to live and work legally in Bahrain while subject to a travel ban.

Cyprus: Arms Control

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received on the release of a Russian cargo ship containing a consignment of munitions destined for Syria by Cypriot authorities on 11 January 2012; what representations he has made to the Government of Cyprus on this matter; and if he will raise this issue as part of the review of the EU Common Position defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment.

David Lidington: holding answer 31 January 2012
	We understand that on 10 January a Russian owned cargo ship loaded with munitions refuelled at a Cypriot port, after which we understand it travelled to Syria. When challenged by the Cypriot authorities assurances were given that the ship would travel on to Turkey.
	On the information available to the UK Government this appears to be a breach of EU restrictive measures (sanctions) against Syria. I raised our concerns with the Cypriot Foreign Minister on 25 January. We are also discussing the matter with EU partners.
	It may be appropriate to further clarify in the EU the interpretation of the Syria restrictive measures. We will consider whether any lessons learnt from this incident should be incorporated into the wider review of the EU Common Position.

Cyprus: Arms Control

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will raise the recent Russian trans-shipment of arms through Cyprus as an urgent matter at the next meeting of the EU Working Party on conventional arms exports.

David Lidington: holding answer 31 January 2012
	On the information available to the UK Government this appears to be a breach of EU restrictive measures (sanctions) against Syria. I raised our concerns with the Cypriot Foreign Minister on 25 January.
	We are discussing the matter with EU partners. It may be appropriate to further clarify in the EU the interpretation of the Syria restrictive measures. However, the agenda and minutes of meetings of the European Union Council Working Group on Conventional Arms Exports (COARM) are not made publicly available and are restricted in order to enable full and frank discussion of export control policy issues by the representatives of EU member states.

Diego Garcia: Aviation

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what records are kept by the UK authorities of flights landing on Diego Garcia in March 2004.

Henry Bellingham: The UK does not hold any flight manifest information on flights which landed in Diego Garcia in March 2004. British Indian Ocean Territory immigration authorities hold immigration cards for civilians arriving in Diego Garcia during that period.

Egypt: Elections

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the outcome of the Egyptian elections on the middle east peace process.

Alistair Burt: The historic elections for the People's Assembly, and first sitting of the Lower House on 23 January, were important steps in Egypt's political transition. The Muslim Brotherhood's Democratic Alliance, which has emerged as the leading political grouping in the new Egyptian Lower House, has publicly committed to honouring all existing international treaties and agreements, including with Israel. We will urge all political parties in Egypt to play their part in supporting the middle east peace process, including by encouraging all stakeholders to engage constructively.

Egypt: Human Rights

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Egyptian Government on human rights.

Alistair Burt: Ministers have raised our concerns about human rights issues with the Egyptian authorities at every opportunity. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister on 24 November 2011 to express his concern about the violence in Cairo, and urged the authorities to respect the right to peaceful protest. In statements in November and December, he expressed his deep concern about the violent clashes, and called for the Egyptian authorities to hold those responsible to account and release those detained for peacefully expressing their views.
	The Deputy Prime Minister called on the Egyptian authorities to end the state of emergency, tackle the causes of sectarian tension and lobbied on the case of the arrested blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, during his visit to Egypt in October.
	The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), issued a statement on 30 December 2011 in which he expressed our concerns about the raids against NGOs. He urged the Egyptian authorities to avoid taking action that would render the democratic process less inclusive. In discussions with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24 January 2012, our ambassador in Cairo emphasised the need for transparent and consultative regulation of civil society.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) draws on the Information Commissioner's policy on publishing freedom of information responses, as set out on the Commissioner's website. The FCO publishes replies that are of wider public interest, on the same part of its website on each occasion, and aims to do so within four weeks of the reply to a request. The average time taken between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website is available only at disproportionate cost.

Friends of Yemen

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Friends of Yemen; and when he next expects a meeting to take place.

Alistair Burt: We last convened Friends of Yemen on 24 September 2010 during the UN General Assembly in New York. The follow up meeting in Riyadh in March 2011 was suspended at Yemeni request due to ongoing protests and violence. We will discuss with our co-chair, Saudi Arabia, when to convene the next meeting. We hope it will be soon after the interim presidential elections to support the new Yemeni Government in national reconciliation and political reform.

Haiti: Foreign Aid

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department provides support to non-governmental human rights groups in Haiti; what information his Department holds on whether any support to such groups is provided multi-laterally through the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides some targeted support to non-governmental human rights groups in Haiti. Through our bilateral programme budget we are currently supporting the child rights organisation, Plan International, with a project to provide media training to young Haitians and spread messages about child rights. We also have a regular dialogue with human rights organisations in Haiti and raise human rights issues both directly with the Haitian Government and at the UN. UK development support to Haiti is channelled through our contributions to multilateral organisations such as the UN, EU, World Bank and Caribbean Development Bank. Since the earthquake in January 2010, the EU has provided over €100 million, including support to human rights and democracy groups.

Libya: Elections

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) prospects for and (b) likely timing of elections in Libya.

Alistair Burt: The National Transitional Council set out the roadmap for elections in their Constitutional Declaration of 21 June 2011. This included the target of National Congress elections within 240 days of the declaration of national liberation, in other words by June 2012, with legislative elections to follow in April 2013. We welcome the efforts made by the Transitional Government so far to achieve these targets, including the publication of a draft Elections Law for public consultation on 2 January and appointment of an Elections Commission on 22 January. The final Elections Law is expected to be published shortly.
	We encourage the Transitional Government to adhere as closely as possible to their target of holding elections this summer in which Libyan society will be able to participate fully. We are pleased that the organisers are working closely with UN advisers to help them realise this goal.

Occupied Territories: Housing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government following the demolition of the homes of Bedouins in Anata in the west bank on 23 January 2012.

Alistair Burt: We are concerned at reports that Bedouin families were forcibly displaced from their homes at Anata on 23 January. Demolitions of Palestinian homes in the west bank are illegal and deeply unhelpful to efforts to bring a lasting peace to the middle east conflict.
	I most recently raised concerns over plans to move west bank Bedouin communities during my visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 7-10 January. I visited the Bedouin community school at Khan al Ahmar to give profile to this issue and subsequently discussed it with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on 9 January. Our officials at the embassy in Tel Aviv regularly discuss our concerns with the Israeli authorities.
	The Israeli authorities state that they are yet to finalise their plans and will consult fully with Bedouin communities before moving ahead. The UK continues to encourage the Israeli Government to carry through on this commitment, to comply fully with their obligations under international law and to ensure that any decision reached on the movement of Bedouin communities should be made with their full consent and not result in a forcible transfer.
	Our officials at the British embassy in Tel Aviv are monitoring this situation closely. While they have not raised the specific issue of Anata with the Israeli authorities yet, they are planning to do so.

Yemen: Foreign Relations

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met Ali Abdullah Saleh, former President of Yemen; and what plans he has to meet President Hadi.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), last met President Saleh on 9 February 2011 during a brief official visit. I am not aware of plans by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to travel to Yemen in 2012. I look forward to meeting the new Yemeni Head of State at the soonest available opportunity. Security constrains our freedom to travel and I am not able to reveal details of my overseas trips.

HEALTH

Benzodiazepines

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 64W, on benzodiazepines, how the guidance is made available to women; and what services are available to support people who wish to cease using the product.

Simon Burns: The patient information leaflet which accompanies each benzodiazepine medicine includes clear advice on stopping treatment and on use during pregnancy to supplement advice from the prescriber. For benzodiazepines indicated for long term use in the management of epilepsy, any decision to stop treatment should be taken only after discussion with a health care professional.
	Guidance for prescribers is contained in the Summary of Product Characteristics. Health care professionals can also access guidance relating to the use of benzodiazepines in the British National Formulary provided free to all prescribers in the national health service.
	If a woman experiences problems in stopping the medicine she may be further supported by her general practitioner or specialist as appropriate.

Disability: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that all disabled children have access to a dedicated assistant to help them take part in activities, such as trips and physical activities.

Sarah Teather: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	Schools and local authorities have duties, which are now requirements of the Equality Act 2010, not to discriminate against a disabled pupil regarding their education and associated services, including school trips, and to take reasonable steps to avoid such discrimination.
	Government do not dictate a particular model of provision to support disabled children and their families: decisions are made locally by local authorities and the health service. The Government's approach to improving services and outcomes for disabled children is set out in their Green Paper: “Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability”. 20 pathfinders have been appointed to test the proposals in the Green Paper, including giving parents more control, parents being better informed about the support that is available and their rights as well as trialling personal budgets for those who want them.
	Local authorities are under a duty to provide a range of short breaks, which allow parents and carers of disabled children to find time to do normal things which other families take for granted.

Drugs: Prices

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has for the use of value-based pricing for the Cancer Drugs Fund; what agreement he has reached with each devolved administration on a timetable for the adoption of value-based pricing; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what safeguards he plans to put in place together with the devolved administrations to ensure that existing standards and best practice for drugs pricing are maintained across jurisdictions after the adoption of value-based pricing.

Simon Burns: The Cancer Dugs Fund (CDF) operates in England only but, when introduced, it is planned that value-based pricing (VBP) will apply United Kingdom wide.
	We are working with colleagues in the devolved Administrations on our plans to introduce a system of VBP for medicines, and will continue to do so as this work progresses. The new system of VBP will be introduced from January 2014, following the end of the 2009 pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.
	We want to find a way in which patients who would benefit from drugs provided through the CDF can continue to do so, at a cost that represents value to the national health service, after the CDF ends in 2014. We are considering whether it would be sensible to assess some of these drugs under the new VBP arrangements when they are introduced, but a decision on this has not yet been made.
	We will ensure that there are arrangements in place to protect individual patients who are receiving treatment with drugs funded by the CDF as the end of the fund approaches.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his proposal that Public Health England should be given responsibility for all drug recovery budgets, what plans he has to confer on Public Health England a duty to reduce (a) reoffending and (b) crime rates.

Anne Milton: The Department is working closely with the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and other partners to help manage the transition to new public health and criminal justice arrangements. This is overseen by a cross-Government Health and Criminal Justice Programme Board and an Offender Substance Misuse Board.
	Subject to parliamentary approval local authorities will be responsible for commissioning drug treatment services in the new public health system. Funding for this will come from a public health ring-fenced grant. Giving local authorities responsibility for commissioning drug and alcohol prevention and recovery orientated treatment services will bring together treatment provision and the wide range of local services that help promote and sustain recovery. This will help reduce health risks and cut crime and make our society safer. These goals are reflected in the Public Health outcomes framework published on 23 January 2012 which includes indicators on completion of drug treatment, reoffending, as well as a number of related indicators. Local areas will determine how they wish to improve outcomes in these areas based on the joint assessment of local needs.
	Further, Public Health England will be established as an executive agency of the Department. Its role will be to support local commissioners with expert advice, evidence and management information including outcomes and value for money data. This will help promote effective prevention and treatment services integrated with local health, crime, housing and employment agencies.
	Subject to parliamentary approval, the responsibility for commissioning substance misuse treatment services people in prison and other places of prescribed detention will lie with the National Health Service Commissioning Board, under an agreement between the Secretary of State and the NHS Commissioning Board.

Family Planning

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department gives to primary care trusts on levels of expenditure on family planning services.

Anne Milton: Funding for local services is a matter for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), taking into account the needs of the local population. The amount spent by PCTs on sexual health services is not prescribed by the Department.

Fractures: Care Homes

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to produce a national standard for care homes on the prevention, treatment and care of fractures resulting from osteoporosis and falls.

Paul Burstow: The Health and Social Care Bill makes provision for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to produce Quality Standards that relate to social care, which would potentially include care homes. Our engagement exercise—Caring for Our Future: Shared ambitions for care and support—sought to understand people's priorities for reform to help inform the approach to be set out in the forthcoming White Paper on adult social care. Responses to the engagement in relation to quality welcomed planned work to extend NICE Quality Standards to social care, and highlighted the potential role clinical audit practice might play in driving up quality in the sector. The Government are now considering these proposals before they set out their plans in their White Paper on care and support.

Fractures: Databases

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission a real-time national audit of all non-hip fragility fractures as part of the re-tender for the National Hip Fracture Database and the national audit of falls and bone health in older people.

Paul Burstow: The re-tender for the National Hip Fracture Database and the National Audit of Falls and Bone health in Older People includes a requirement to conduct a feasibility study regarding all non-hip fragility fractures. The feasibility study will allow a decision to be made regarding the future commissioning of such a database.

Herbal Medicine

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many herbal medicinal products were under investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for being sold as food supplements on the most recent date for which information is available; when each such investigation began; when he expects each investigation to reach a judgement; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has investigated the sale of any herbal medicinal products as food supplements in Holland and Barrett stores in the last six months; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many complaints the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received about the sale of herbal medicinal products in Holland and Barrett stores which do not comply with the EU Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products in each of the last six months; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not hold information on how many herbal medicines have been presented as food supplements. The MHRA is currently investigating complaints about 25 companies selling some 174 herbal products which may fall within the definition of a medicine. The time taken to process a complaint will depend on the complexity of the case, the number of products involved and the response from the company concerned.
	Companies that are investigated by the MHRA are entitled to their privacy especially where, following investigation, no subsequent enforcement action is taken against them. The MHRA considers that it would not be in the public interest to publish the names of companies where no breach of legislation has been identified or where there is compliance with regulatory requirements; such an approach could also have legal implications. Where a case results in a final determination that a product is a medicine, this information appears on the MHRA website. The MHRA is currently considering how effective, proportionate enforcement action can best ensure that the intended benefits of the directive on traditional herbal medicinal products for consumers and for companies compliant with the legislation are achieved.

Hospitals: Inspections

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role Local Involvement Networks (LINks) and local HealthWatch organisations will play in relation to patient-led inspections; and whether LINks are involved in their planning and piloting.

Simon Burns: Local Involvement Networks (LINks) are independent, as local HealthWatch (LHW) will be when they come into being, and therefore the exact role they play will depend on local decision making. However, the new inspection system will ensure that, where they wish to be involved, they have the opportunity to play a leading role.
	The patient-led inspection pilots will be developed by the Department's Steering Group and will involve patients and their representatives. This includes working in collaboration with LINks who have the expertise in ‘enter and view’, and involving HealthWatch England and LHW as soon as they come into being. LINks and HealthWatch will play a pivotal role during planning, the pilots and delivery, to ensure the new system focus remains on what patients want.

Mental Health Services: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that a child and adolescent mental health service worker or child psychologist is attached to every school.

Sarah Teather: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	The Government recognise the important and valued role schools play in supporting children's mental health. We are clear that the education system needs to work effectively with the health service to identify and support children who have serious or complex mental health problems. Ultimately, what kind of support is required and where that support is delivered is a matter for local decision, based on local need. It is for health and education bodies to work together to determine when that support should be delivered directly in schools. Schools can also use their own budgets to purchase services to meet the needs of pupils, including supporting pupils' emotional and mental health. Funding for these types of support is included in the Department's Early Intervention Grant (EIG) to local authorities.

Obesity: Surgery

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the NHS budget is for bariatric surgery.

Anne Milton: The Department does not hold information on the cost to primary care trusts (PCTs) of providing patients with bariatric surgery. It is up to PCTs to commission a range of health care services for their population, based on clinical need and effectiveness.

Organs: Donors

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were added to the organ donor register in (a) England, (b) the north-west and (c) Cumbria in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of registrations on the organ donor register (ODR) in England, the North West Strategic Health Authority and Cumbria, 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2011, by year 
			 Year of registration (1) England (2) North-west (2) Cumbria (2) 
			 2007 826,576 103,641 7,990 
			 2008 905,947 116,645 8,284 
			 2009 849,763 100,773 8,202 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 901,224 110,655 9,162 
			 2011 820,083 94,880 8,133 
			 Current total(3) 15,028,160 1,884,824 143,950 
			 (1) This is based on registrants on the ODR as at 30 January 2012 and excludes people who registered in this time period and have subsequently died or been removed from the ODR. (2) Areas defined from the Office for National Statistics postcode datasets. (3) The current total number of registrations on the ODR as at 30 January 2012. Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

Osteoporosis: Health Services

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will advise general practitioners to use the FRAX fracture risk assessment tool in order to meet the conditions required by the Quality and Outcomes Framework osteoporosis indicators.

Paul Burstow: The prioritisation and development of potential indicators for inclusion in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is the responsibility of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and its independent Primary Care QOF Indicator Advisory Committee.
	The current osteoporosis indicators focus on the secondary prevention of fragility fractures and do not specify how patients at risk of fragility fracture should be identified.

Pain

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is his policy that chronic pain is a long-term condition that requires the preparation of care plans.

Paul Burstow: The Department recognises chronic pain as a long-term condition, either in its own right or as a component of other long-term conditions. Everyone who suffers persistent pain should have a timely assessment in order to determine the cause of the pain—if a cause can be determined—and to advise on options for treatment, including self-help. Patients with refractory chronic pain will benefit from the care planning approach, but decisions should be taken on an individual basis depending on the severity of symptoms and any co-morbidities.

Parents: Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress his Department has made on the national roll-out of free parenting classes for parents with children under five.

Sarah Teather: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	The Department announced on 18 October 2011 that a trial of universal parenting classes for mothers and fathers of children 0 to five years will run from spring 2012 in three areas (Middlesbrough, High Peak (Derbyshire), and the London borough of Camden) aimed at over 50,000 parents. The trial will test how best a commercial market in parenting classes for all parents can be established.
	The aim is to stimulate the supply and demand for parenting classes by offering parents a range of classes in different formats such as face to face and online. Parents will be provided with vouchers during the trial which they can use to redeem the parenting classes.
	The procurement exercise for organisations to provide parenting classes in the trial was launched on 7 November 2011 and a further procurement exercise for the local support and voucher provider role was launched on 9 December 2011. The outcome of these processes will be announced soon.

Seroxat

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 73W, on paroxetine, if he will quantify the magnitude of the small increased risks identified in the circumstances described in the Answer.

Simon Burns: Observational studies suggest about two in 100 babies whose mothers take paroxetine in early pregnancy are born with a birth defect, in particular a heart-related defect. This compares with about one in 100 babies born to women who have not taken paroxetine. For an individual woman, the magnitude of the risk following exposure to paroxetine in the first trimester of pregnancy is difficult to estimate because several risk factors exist for birth defects, including smoking and other dietary and lifestyle factors.
	For persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), observational studies suggest that about five in 1,000 babies born to mothers who have taken an antidepressant of the same type as paroxetine (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs), particularly in late pregnancy, develop this condition. This compares to about one to two cases of PPHN in 1,000 babies born to women not exposed to SSRIs during pregnancy.
	Any increase in risk to the foetus due to paroxetine is small and needs to be considered in the context of the potentially greater risk that may result from the mother's untreated depression. The product information for paroxetine, including the patient information leaflet, outlines these small risks to support discussion between health care professionals and patients.

Surgery

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes there were (a) for males and (b) in total for (i) hip replacement, (ii) knee replacement, (iii) coronary artery bypass graft, (iv) cochlea implant and (v) cholecystectomy procedures for patients aged (A) 15 to 39, (B) 40 to 49, (C) 50 to 54, (D) 55 to 59, (E) 60 to 64, (F) 65 to 69, (G) 70 to 74 and (H) over 75 years in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The available information is shown in the following tables, which show the total number of finished consultant episodes (FCE)(1) and FCEs where the patient gender is ‘male’ with main operative procedure
	(2)
	as specified by patient age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	The information provided includes activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.
	
		
			 Hip replacement 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 1,218 538 1,227 547 1,298 624 
			 40-49 2,767 1,266 2,959 1,380 3,237 1,458 
			 50-54 3,266 1,394 3,398 1,421 3,819 1,597 
			 55-59 5,753 2,435. 5,655 2,331 6,166 2,662 
			 60-64 10,202 4,272 10,091 4,243 10,998 4,658 
			 65-69 12,785 5,056 12,630 5,068 13,370 5,399 
			 70-74 16,198 6,180 16,297 6,144 16,523 6,172 
			 75 and over 48,233 13,898 48,685 14,381 50,477 15,175 
		
	
	
		
			 Knee replacement 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age  g roup Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 244 94 221 87 182 79 
			 40-49 1,816 765 1,641 703 1,619 676 
			 50-54 3,233 1,320 2,937 1,180 3,103 1,319 
			 55-59 6,539 2,690 5,751 2,440 5,932 2,473 
			 60-64 11,650 5,334 11,113 5,086 11,455 5,227 
			 65-69 13,626 6,232 12,974 5,919 13,572 6,204 
			 70-74 15,361 6,686 14,557 6,432 15,171 6,496 
			 75 and over 24,373 9,545 23,469 9,416 24,201 9,648 
		
	
	
		
			 Coronary artery bypass graft 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 14 11 10 7 16 10 
			 40-49 89 75 84 66 75 58 
			 50-54 122 91 99 77 96 77 
			 55-59 237 189 207 178 175 140 
			 60-64 396 316 309 253 280 222 
			 65-69 517 365 403 309 410 291 
			 70-74 626 428 612 418 484 339 
			 75 and over 1,280 817 1454 748 1,126 729 
		
	
	
		
			 Cochlear implant 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 112 47 110 37 133 49 
			 40-49 53 23 62 26 85 33 
			 50-54 39 13 27 16 41 20 
			 55-59 40 13 33 11 29 10 
			 60-64 40 16 43 18 38 23 
			 65-69 47 26 33 16 43 17 
			 70-74 45 27 35 20 32 13 
			 75 and over 62 34 58 28 58 31 
		
	
	
		
			 Cholecystectomy 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 15,272 1,859 16,136 1,897 16,881 2,074 
			 40-49 11,615 2,512 12,197 2,640 12,699 2,798 
			 50-54 5,736 1,473 6,080 1,583 6,372 1,625 
			 55-59 5,851 1,596 5,900 1,647 5,903 1,695 
			 60-64 6,389 1,929 6,636 2,044 6,728 2,068 
			 65-69 5,012 1,759 5,353 1,868 5,501 1,899 
			 70-74 4,369 1,770 4,531 1,769 4,546 1,757 
			 75 and over 4,930 1,949 5,101 2,097 5,103 2,063 
			 (1) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. (2) The first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures.

Surgery

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) mean and (b) median waiting time was for (i) colorectal excision, (ii) radical prostatectomy, (iii) breast excision, (iv) inguinal hernia repair and (v) abdominal aortic aneurysm aorta replacement procedures for patients aged (A) 15 to 39, (B) 40 to 49, (C) 50 to 54, (D) 55 to 59, (E) 60 to 64, (F) 65 to 69, (G) 70 to 74 and (H) over 75 years in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The available information is shown in the following tables which show the mean and median time waited (days) for finished admissions episodes(1) with the main operative procedure(2) as specified by patient age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	The information provided includes activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.
	Information on radical prostatectomy is not available.
	
		
			 Colorectal excision 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median 
			 15-39 42 32 46 34 44 35 
			 40-49 37 27 38 28 38 30 
			 50-54 32 24 35 27 37 28 
			 55-59 32 23 33 25 35 27 
			 60-64 27 19 28 19 27 19 
			 65-69 27 18 28 18 27 18 
			 70-74 30 20 29 21 30 20 
			 75 and over 27 20 29 21 29 21 
		
	
	
		
			 Breast excision 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010- 11 
			 Patient age group Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median 
			 15-39 42 30 44 30 45 30 
		
	
	
		
			 40-49 26 19 28 19 27 19 
			 50-54 23 18 25 18 22 19 
			 55-59 22 18 24 18 22 19 
			 60-64 21 17 22 18 20 18 
			 65-69 21 18 22 18 20 18 
			 70-74 20 18 22 18 21 19 
			 75 and over 21 18 23 19 21 19 
		
	
	
		
			 Inguinal hernia repair 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010- 11 
			 Patient age group Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median 
			 15-39 61 54 61 55 65 57 
			 40-49 64 57 64 56 67 59 
			 50-54 65 57 66 57 68 61 
			 55-59 64 56 64 57 68 62 
			 60-64 64 57 65 57 67 60 
			 65-69 63 56 65 58 67 60 
			 70-74 62 55 65 56 68 61 
			 75 and over 64 55 66 57 69 62 
		
	
	
		
			 Abdominal aortic aneurysm aorta replacement 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010- 11 
			 Patient age group Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median 
			 15-39 27 27 34 34 64 64 
			 40-49 40 40 37 27 32 41 
			 50-54 34 31 30 23 35 21 
			 55-59 36 32 36 28 34 27 
			 60-64 37 29 36 26 35 27 
			 65-69 38 28 38 29 38 33 
			 70-74 38 28 38 31 36 30 
			 75 and over 36 26 38 25 37 27 
			 (1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) The first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (eg time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre. 
		
	
	Radical prostatectomy is not identifiable in Hospital Episode Statistics.

Surgery

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) admissions and (b) emergency admissions there were for (i) colorectal excision, (ii) radical prostatectomy, (iii) breast excision, (iv) inguinal hernia repair and (v) abdominal aortic aneurysm aorta replacement procedures for patients aged (A) 15 to 39, (B) 40 to 49, (C) 50 to 54, (D) 55 to 59, (E) 60 to 64, (F) 65 to 69, (G) 70 to 74 and (H) over 75 years in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The available information is shown in the tables, which show the total number of finished admissions episodes(1) (FAEs), and FAEs where the method of admission is 'Emergency'
	(2)
	, where a main operative procedure
	(3)
	as identified has been carried out, by age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	The information provided includes activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.
	Information on Radical Prostatectomy is not available.
	
		
			 Colorectal Excision 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15 to 39 4,829 752 5,257 777 5,769 748 
			 40 to 49 7,384 647 8,072 722 8,910 675 
			 50 to 54 5,876 452 6,540 454 7,538 473 
			 55 to 59 8,265 565 8,767 577 9,995 657 
			 60 to 64 15,120 879 17,736 855 20,969 873 
			 65 to 69 15,604 888 18,329 912 21,720 924 
			 70 to 74 13,522 1,055 15,104 1,027 18,007 1,059 
			 75 and over 23,238 2,785 25,363 2,854 27,617 2,810 
		
	
	
		
			 Breast Excision 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15 to 39 9,072 27 9,169 29 8,622 28 
			 40 to 49 10,409 39 10,666 42 11,229 22 
			 50 to 54 6,987 24 6,996 21 7,294 9 
			 55 to 59 6,081 30 5,729 19 5,627 12 
			 60 to 64 7,411 33 7,566 33 7,525 22 
			 65 to 69 6,067 25 6,306 14 6,685 13 
			 70 to 74 3,778 17 3,757 11 4,068 12 
			 75 and over 6,008 44 6,382 30 6,545 17 
		
	
	
		
			 Inguinal Hernia Repair 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15 to 39 10,985 390 10,081 349 9,960 345 
			 40 to 49 9,279 208 8,994 202 9,053 207 
			 50 to 54 5,241 153 5,109 121 5,115 124 
			 55 to 59 6,952 182 6,408 149 6,288 180 
			 60 to 64 9,114 267 8,745 236 8,823 273 
			 65 to 69 8,035 247 7,814 262 8,037 289 
			 70 to 74 7,897 346 7,626 339 7,384 324 
			 75 and over 14,480 1,259 14,033 1,339 13,715 1,321 
		
	
	
		
			 Abdominal aortic aneurysm aorta replacement 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15 to 39 4 2 2 0 4 1 
			 40 to 49 6 4 10 2 8 .2 
			 50 to 54 20 6 19 7 25 4 
			 55 to 59 105 43 85 22 77 22 
			 60 to 64 274 85 283 96 265 96 
			 65 to 69 546 167 477 150 401 125 
			 70 to 74 793 257 718 241 606 218 
			 75 and over 1,447 557 1,221 499 1,040 492 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) An emergency admission is one where the admission method is recorded as one of the following codes: 21 Emergency—via Accident and Emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 22 Emergency—via General Practitioner (GP) 23 Emergency—via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24 Emergency—via consultant out-patient clinic 28 Emergency—other means, including patients who arrive via the A&E department (3) The first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Surgery

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) admissions and (b) emergency admissions there were for (i) hip replacement, (ii) knee replacement, (iii) coronary artery bypass graft, (iv) cochlea implant and (v) cholecystectomy procedures for patients aged (A) 15 to 39, (B) 40 to 49, (C) 50 to 54, (D) 55 to 59, (E) 60 to 64, (F) 65 to 69, (G) 70 to 74 and (H) over 75 years in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The following tables show the total number of finished admissions episodes(1) (FAEs) and FAEs where the method of admission is 'Emergency'(2) where a main operative procedure(3) ( )as identified has been carried out, by age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	The information provided includes activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.
	
		
			 Hip r eplacement 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15-39 1,199 70 1,205 52 1,283 44 
			 40-49 2,717 209 2,892 221 3,177 194 
			 50-54 3,199 237 3,344 290 3,748 275 
			 55-59 5,631 508 5,509 568 6,058 447 
			 60-64 9,936 1,170 9,840 1,082 10,755 1,097 
			 65-69 12,465 1,708 12,318 1,662 13,022 1,744 
			 70-74 15,666 2,915 15,641 2,965 15,929 2,771 
			 75 and over 43,771 22,337 44,125 22,849 45,890 23,295 
		
	
	
		
			 Knee replacement 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient  a ge  g roup Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15-39 244 1 220 1 181 3 
			 40-49 1,807 9 1,635 12 1,611 5 
			 50-54 3,214 12 2,930 14 3,089 12 
			 55-59 6,502 24 5,713 25 5,918 13 
			 60-64 11,583 31 11,056 27 11,404 41 
			 65-69 13,549 53 12,903 30 13,503 45 
			 70-74 15,243 57 14,473 61 15,099 63 
			 75 and over 24,136 197 23,267 165 24,024 151 
		
	
	
		
			 Coronary artery bypass graft 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15-39 10 — 8 1 12 1 
			 40-49 64 4 59 10 60 5 
			 50-54 98 6 75 6 70 1 
			 55-59 192 6 172 12 139 5 
			 60-64 336 9 246 12 220 13 
			 65-69 429 13 317 14 346 20 
			 70-74 511 21 470 28 392 10 
			 75 and over 959 29 853 42 848 34 
		
	
	
		
			 Cochlear implant 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15-39 112 — 110 — 132 1 
			 40-49 53 — 62 — 85 1 
			 50-54 39 — 27 — 41 — 
			 55-59 40 — 33 — 29 — 
			 60-64 40 — 43 — 38 1 
			 65-69 47 1 33 — 43 — 
			 70-74 45 — 35 — 32 — 
			 75 and over 62 1 58 — 58 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Cholecystectomy 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15-39 14,639 1,649 15,489 1,860 16,141 2,043 
			 40-49 11,246 878 11,774 994 12,254 1,102 
			 50-54 5,548 380 5,860 456 6,154 512 
			 55-59 5,635 420 5,683 428 5,686 447 
			 60-64 6,169 435 6,386 452 6,488 510 
			 65-69 4,803 386 5,129 386 5,263 394 
			 70-74 4,152 335 4,307 372 4,330 411 
			 75 and over 4,538 592 4,716 630 4,732 629 
			 (1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) An emergency admission is one where the admission method is recorded as one of the following codes: 21 Emergency—via Accident and Emergency (A and E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 22 Emergency—via General Practitioner (GP) 23 Emergency—via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24 Emergency—via consultant out-patient clinic 28 Emergency—other means, including patients who arrive via the A and E department (3) The first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many anti-social behaviour orders were issued in (a) Birmingham, (b) Derby, (c)Thurrock and (d) Bradford in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11;
	(2)  how many incidents of anti-social behaviour were reported to the police in (a) Birmingham, (b) Bradford, (c) Thurrock and (d) Derby in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 30 January 2012
	These data are not available in the format requested and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

CCTV

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the number of people who were (a) arrested and (b) convicted as a result of CCTV evidence in (i) Birmingham, (ii) Bradford, (iii) Derby, (iv) Thurrock and (v) Ashfield in (A) 2009-10 and (B) 2010-11.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 30 January 2012
	Information on the evidence leading to arrests is not held centrally.

Knives: Crime

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knife-point robberies occurred in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire in each of the last three years; and what assessment she has made of the British Crime Survey's findings that knife-point robberies have increased by 10 per cent. in the last 12 months.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 24 January 2012
	Data for selected offences involving the use of a knife or sharp instrument are collected by the Home Office at police force area level only, so data are not available for Ashfield constituency. Data are provided for Nottinghamshire police force area.
	In the Nottinghamshire police force area, there were 436 robberies involving a knife or sharp instrument in the 12 months ending September 2009, 382 in the 12 months ending September 2010 and 303 in the 12 months ending September 2011.

Members: Surveillance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards her Department has put in place to ensure that hon. Members do not have their telephone conversations covertly heard by (a)  the police, (b) the Serious Organised Crime Agency and (c) other Government agencies.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 24 January 2012
	In answer to questions in the House of Commons on 17 November 1966, the then Prime Minister, the right hon. Harold Wilson, said that he had given instructions that there was to be no tapping of the telephones of Members of Parliament and that if there were a development which required a change of policy he would make a statement in the House about it. The Prime Minister confirmed on 24 January 2011 that this policy has not changed.

Police

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to ratify in full the decisions of the Police Arbitration Tribunal on the Windsor 1 recommendations; what process she plans to follow when taking the decision on ratification of these decisions; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 30 January 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), on 30 January 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.

Police: Bureaucracy

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much time warranted police officers spent on average participating in human resources procedures including disciplinary, recruitment and retirement processes in (a) London and (b) England and Wales in each year between 2002 and 2012.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 31 January 2012
	The information requested is not held centrally.

Police: Conditions of Employment

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the Government response to the recent report of the Police Arbitration Panel on pay and conditions for the police.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 31 January 2012
	I refer the right. hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), on 30 January 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.

Police: ICT

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of results from the West Midlands pilot on mobile technology in policing; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: West Midlands was one of a number of forces which took part in the Pilot of the Lantern mobile fingerprinting identification service. Although no force specific assessments were made, an assessment of the pilot as a whole was undertaken by the National Policing Improvement Agency. A survey of officers who took part in the pilot found that:
	the majority felt that there was an increase in the number of people they were able to identify;
	almost all officers felt more confident in handling situations with the public; and
	just over half of officers reported that the devices saved time.
	The results of the pilots were used to inform a new and updated mobile fingerprint service known as MobileID.

Police: Motor Vehicles

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that local police forces put safeguards in place for suspects who have had vehicles taken away from them as a result of a police investigation.

Nick Herbert: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the accompanying codes of practice provide safeguards regarding police powers to seize and retain material—including vehicles—which are needed as evidence or for forensic examination.
	The powers also cover the safekeeping and return of the vehicle and enable the suspect to have access to the vehicle under certain conditions, for example, to prevent evidence from being tampered with.
	The use of these powers is an operational matter for Chief Police Officers.
	If an individual considers that the police have not followed PACE and the Codes in their case, then they can make a complaint to the Chief Police Officer or to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). If the vehicle is damaged or the police refuse to return it then the individual can take action in court in the normal manner.

Stop and Search: Young People

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of young adults aged 18 to 24 years old were (a) stopped and searched, (b) given conditional cautions, (c) given a penalty notice for disorder, (d) given a fixed penalty notice and (e) arrested by the police in each year since 2008.

Nick Herbert: Available information on arrests held by the Home Office relates to persons aged between 18 and 20 arrested for notifiable offences, and corresponding rates per 100,000 population in 2008-09 and 2009-10, and is provided in Table A. Data on arrests reported to the Home Office are reported in aggregate form covering specific age groups (10 to 17, 18 to 20, 21 and over) and cannot be separated further. Data for 2010-11 are scheduled to be published in April 2012.
	Data on the number of stops and searches and fixed penalty notices (FPNS) cannot be provided as the Home Office does not require police forces in England and Wales to provide information on the ages of subjects searched or issued with FPNs as a part of these collections.
	Data provided by the Ministry of Justice covering the number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to persons aged between 18 and 24, with rates per 100,000 population, from 2008 to 2010 (latest available) in England and Wales are provided in Table B. Data for 2011 are planned for publication in May 2012.
	Information on conditional cautions provided by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is taken from its case management system and covers the numbers of conditional cautions only. A breakdown of the number of young adults aged between 18 and 24 issued with conditional cautions in England and Wales since January 2008 is provided in Table C.
	
		
			 Table A: Persons aged 18 to 20 arrested for notifiable offences, England and Wales, 2008-09 and 2009-10 
			 Number and rate 
			  Number of persons arrested Number arrested per 100,000 of the population (1) 
			 2008-09 219,308 10,051 
			 2009-10 208,262 9,508 
			 (1) Based upon mid-year population estimates provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2008 and 2009, for persons aged 18 to 20. Source: Home Office 
		
	
	
		
			 Table B: Penalty notices for disorder issued for all offences to persons aged 18 to 24, England and Wales, 2008-10 (1) 
			 Number and rate 
			  Number issued Number issued per 100,000 of the population (2) 
			 2008 72,348 1,395 
			 2009 72,388 1,386 
			 2010 59,948 1,136 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Based upon mid-year population estimates provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2008 and 2009, for persons aged 18 to 24. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table C: Conditional cautions issued to 18 to 24-year-olds: England and Wales, 2008 to 2011 
			 Number 
			  Total conditional cautions issued 
			 2008 3,872 
			 2009 4,283 
			 2010 3,859 
			 2011 2,973 
			 Note: Includes conditional cautions issued both pre- and post-charge, This incorporates those cases where the defendant has been charged with an offence as part of the file review prior to the first court hearing, and in accordance with para 25 of the DPP's Guidance on Charging (4th Edition: January 2011), a prosecutor has determined that a conditional caution is a more appropriate way to process the charge. Data are obtained from a management information system. Source: Crown Prosecution Service

Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the members are of the Government's Terrorism, Prevention and Investigation Measures review group; and to which Secretary of State it will report.

James Brokenshire: Membership of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Review Group (TRG) includes officials from the Home Office, the police and the Security Service. Officials from other agencies such as the Crown Prosecution Service may also attend where appropriate. The TRG reports to the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contribution her Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office signed up to the Renewed Compact in 2010. Over the last year the Department has taken the following actions to ensure the Compact is being implemented:
	A Director has been appointed as Compact Champion for the Department and a team has been identified to be responsible for the day to day promotion and management of Compact implementation;
	We have successfully established a VCSE Stakeholder Forum with representatives of the voluntary sector to discuss issues of mutual interest including application of the Compact;
	We have begun to undertake a departmental-wide mapping exercise to develop Compact awareness as well as understand funded and stakeholder relationships with the voluntary sector;
	We participated in the National Audit Office's review of national Compact implementation.
	My Department expects to include a statement on how the Compact is being implemented in the Home Office Business Plan for 2012-13 in the spring, and has also embedded Compact principles into our business plans in this year.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

ICT

Karl McCartney: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, who (a) is responsible for and (b) maintains the systems protecting communications within the parliamentary estate and on parliamentary IT servers; and whether any of this work is undertaken by a contractor.

John Thurso: PICT is responsible for and maintains the systems protecting communications within the parliamentary estate and on parliamentary IT servers. We do not comment on specific security arrangements.

Mobile Phones

Karl McCartney: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether there are any on-going warrants issued under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 under which (a) email communications and (b) hard-line or mobile telephone communications are monitored on the parliamentary estate or remotely through parliamentary estate servers.

John Thurso: We do not comment on matters of security.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Complaints

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the average cost to the public purse was of processing a complaint made to IPSA's compliance officer against hon. Members in the latest period for which figures are available.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Compliance Officer for IPSA, who is statutorily independent of IPSA's executive branch. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Peter Davis, dated 31 January 2012
	As Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about the cost to the public purse of processing a complaint made to IPSA's Compliance Officer.
	The time taken to process a complaint against an MP will be the largest factor in determining the cost. This will depend upon the nature of the complaint; whether the Compliance Officer decides to progress the complaint to a preliminary investigation and, thereafter, whether it is advanced to a substantive investigation.
	Data on the time taken to conclude complaints is not currently held in a format that would enable any meaningful costs to be assessed. An average cost per complaint is, therefore, not available.
	IPSA's Annual Report and Accounts for 2011-12 will include details both of expenditure in this area and also of the work undertaken by the Compliance Officer throughout the year.

Freedom of Information

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the average cost to IPSA was of processing a request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the latest period for which figures are available.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Scott Woolveridge, dated 31 January 2012
	In the absence of the Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about the average cost of processing a Freedom of Information request.
	The staff time taken to process a Freedom of Information request is the largest factor in determining the cost. The time taken in each case will depend on the nature of the request, the amount of information requested and whether exemptions will apply. Where a request is particularly complex, it may require the involvement of senior members of staff or the IPSA Board.
	We do not record how much time is spent on each Freedom of Information request we receive, and as a consequence an average cost per request is not available.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if he will request IPSA to provide a secure (a) postal address and (b) e-mail address within IPSA, with a named individual for hon. and right hon. Members to submit confidential staff information.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Scott Woolveridge,  dated  30 January 2012
	As Director of Operations of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about arrangements for providing information to IPSA in a secure manner.
	Post arrives at IPSA in two ways. Either the mail is delivered via Royal Mail or it is collected from the Drop Box at Portcullis House. These collections are made solely by IPSA staff.
	All mail is opened, scanned and sorted in a secure locked environment with limited access. Access to this room is restricted to four members of staff and no documents are removed from this room until they are scanned and an electronic record of them is made. The only exception to this is where envelopes are marked ‘personal’, in which case the unopened envelope will be placed on the desk of the addressee.
	E-mails addressed to 'IPSA INFO' are sorted centrally and either sent on to specific recipients or worked on by the Information team and responded as appropriate. The status of these e-mails is monitored daily to ensure that they are dealt with in a timely manner. E-mails to specific recipients are delivered directly to password protected e-mail accounts that may only be accessed by the account owner.
	This arrangement provides a suitable control on the movement of e-mails and documents around the organisation and we have no plans to amend it.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if he will request IPSA to make it its policy that letters from the Authority to hon. and right hon. Members are signed and that the name of the person signing the letter is printed with their job title.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Scott Woolveridge, dated 30 January 2012
	As Director of Operations of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about IPSA's policy on the signing of letters to MPs.
	It is our general practice to include the name and job title on all e-mails and letters sent from IPSA. There are a few exceptions to this which include the automated e-mails sent to MPs from the online expense system advising the status of claims and the weekly e-mail bulletins to MPs offices.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on funding arrangements for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK is ready to increase its funding to the Global Fund subject to rapid progress with reforms. I will discuss ways to leverage funds from others in the run up to the Mid Term Review of the Replenishment including possible additional resource mobilisation opportunities.

Development Policy

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that development policy takes full account of the interests of girls and women.

Andrew Mitchell: Following the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews girls and women are at the centre of everything we do. The results we will achieve are clearly set out in our document entitled 'Strategic vision for girls and women'.

Foreign Aid Programmes

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many countries to which the UK gives overseas aid have foreign aid programmes of their own.

Andrew Mitchell: While it is true that India—and indeed South Africa—have aid programmes, most of it does not meet the internationally accepted definition of Aid.

Global Schools Partnership Programme

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of his Department's global schools partnership programme.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development funded Global School Partnerships Programme has supported over 4,000 links between schools in the UK and developing countries. In 2011 we used an independent review to assess the programme's impact on students' learning. It found a significant and positive impact on students' knowledge and attitudes to global poverty.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of governance and humanitarian issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Stephen O'Brien: The state is weak with limited capacity in the Democratic Republic Congo. The system lacks transparency and accountability and corruption is endemic. The humanitarian situation is one of the most enduring globally. Conflict, malnutrition and disease epidemics render the population vulnerable with millions in need of emergency assistance.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of (a) human rights and (b) the integrity of the recent elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Stephen O'Brien: Human rights in Democratic Republic of Congo remain a serious concern. Detailed information is available in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's annual report on human rights.
	Polling in the elections was largely peaceful with a good turnout. However, we are concerned about reports of irregularities, some serious, throughout the election process.

Horn of Africa

Kris Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of food security in the horn of Africa.

Andrew Mitchell: British support has so far fed or vaccinated four million people in the Horn of Africa. The international community must do more to promote food security in the longer term. Progress on this has been made in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Afghanistan: Taxation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Afghanistan on steps to improve tax revenue levels in that country.

Andrew Mitchell: The Government of Afghanistan's ability to raise revenue is central to the financial viability of the state. The UK has been working closely with the Afghanistan Revenue Department since 2003 and helped increase revenue to £1.65 billion in 2010-11, up 26% on the previous year. Revenue collection as a proportion of GDP grew from less than 3% in 2002 to 11.2% of GDP in 2010-11, an all-time high. In addition, tax collection targets have been exceeded for large, medium and provincial taxpayers.

Departmental Recruitment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 1011W, on departmental recruitment, how much of the £145,489.16 spent on recruitment agencies was spent on agency (a) fees and (b) staff.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has a framework arrangement with two specific agency providers. A set hourly rate is paid direct to the agency provider depending on the grade and level of work required. The rate paid to the agency member of staff is subject to a contractual arrangement between the agency provider and the individual. DFID is not advised of this rate.

Departmental Work Experience

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work experience or traineeship schemes his Department offers to minority groups.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development participates in the Whitehall summer diversity internship programme for under-represented groups, including black and ethnic minority communities and also diverse socio-economic backgrounds. We will provide placements for three individuals on this scheme this summer.

East Africa: Droughts

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development through which (a) UN and (b) other humanitarian agencies he plans to deliver emergency aid for the food crisis in the Sahel; whether the aid is new funding; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that emergency response is integrated into a long-term resilience plan for the region.

Alan Duncan: On 22 January the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), announced a new package of lifesaving emergency assistance to help thousands of children facing severe hunger across the Sahel region of West Africa.
	Negotiations are currently under way with various United Nations Organisations and non-governmental organisations as to the precise make-up of this assistance. Although it is too early to give precise programme details, it is likely that British assistance will help treat 68,000 severely malnourished children in Niger, Chad and Mali and provide animal feed and animal vaccinations to 30,000 families to keep their livestock alive.
	The Department for International Development recognises the need to strengthen the resilience of the Sahel region, and is currently preparing a Sahel resilience strategy. This was one of the commitments we made in response to the Humanitarian Emergency Response Review last year.

East Africa: Overseas Aid

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what payments over £50,000 were made by his Department for international development work in (a) Sudan, (b) Malawi and (c) Zambia in 2010-11; what the name of the recipient was in each case; and what work was carried out.

Andrew Mitchell: Information on payments made by the Department for International Development (DFID) is freely available on our website.
	This Government introduced the 'Aid Transparency Guarantee', in order to make our aid fully transparent both to taxpayers in the UK and to citizens in recipient countries. Details of every payment over the value of £25,000 made by DFID since 12 May 2010 can be found at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/DFID-spend/
	DFID now publishes details of every payment over £500 on a monthly basis.

Food Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Gateshead of 17 January 2012, Official Report, columns 656-7W, on food aid, 
	(1)  what the seven Charter to End Extreme Hunger commitments that the Government is carrying out are; and what assessment he has made of their effectiveness;
	(2)  which two Charter to End Extreme Hunger commitments the Government is considering; and when he expects to have made a decision on these two commitments;
	(3)  which four Charter to End Extreme Hunger commitments the Government considers to be unworkable; and on what basis this conclusion was reached.

Andrew Mitchell: The Government have already made commitments and are taking action that anticipates the concerns expressed through the first, third, fourth, sixth, 11th, 12th and 13th recommendations of the charter. The Government's commitments are built upon the recommendations of the Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR), which I commissioned in 2010. As part of the Government's response to the HERR, we will invite the International Development Committee to review progress against our commitments. The charter's fifth and 10th recommendations are the subject of ongoing work or trials.
	The remaining recommendations were considered to be too vague, or incompatible with the Government's commitments to transparency and to maximising the value of UK aid by concentrating it in the countries where it is most needed.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department is making to implementation of the Compact with the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: DFID is contributing to Compact between UK Government and voluntary organisations.
	DFID ensures that it consults voluntary organisations on matters that that are likely to impact on the Department's work with civil society. Examples of this include the 12 week open consultation on the design of UK Aid Match and consultation on the design of the Global Poverty Action Fund.
	DFID Ministers and officials also meet regularly with a wide range of civil society groups to discuss opportunities for achieving common goals.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's budget was for aid to Yemen in each of the last three years; and how much of the budget was spent in each such year.

Alan Duncan: The following table sets out the Department for International Development's (DFID) country programme allocation, country programme expenditure and bilateral expenditure on Yemen over the last three financial years. Country programme expenditure is made against yearly country programme allocations. Bilateral expenditure includes other DFID programme expenditure benefitting Yemen but not directly administered by the Yemen country programme—for example a contribution of £3.8 million by the Global Funds Department to the education Fast Track Initiative in 2010-11. Figures for the latter are taken from 'Statistics in Development 2011' published on the DFID website.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year DFID Yemen country programme allocation DFID Yemen country programme expenditure DFID bilateral expenditure on Yemen 
			 2010-11 50.0 47.3 51.1 
			 2009-10 35.0 25.3 29.8 
			 2008-09 20.0 19.1 19.2

JUSTICE

Aarhus Convention

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps he has taken to comply with the requirements of the Aarhus convention in relation to civil litigation costs.

Jonathan Djanogly: The convention requires that costs not be 'prohibitively expensive'. On 19 October the Government launched a consultation on proposals to limit the liability of the claimant to pay the defendant's costs to £5,000 and also limit the liability of the defendant to pay the claimant's costs to £30,000. The consultation closed on 18 January 2012 and the Government intend to publish their response, including proposals on the way forward shortly.

Departmental Recruitment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, columns 266-7W, on departmental recruitment, how much of the £15,698,302 spent on recruitment agencies was spent on agency (a) fees and (b) staff.

Kenneth Clarke: Payments made to recruitment agencies comprise the sourced labour costs, the agency administration costs and a sum for VAT. The value of the administration costs is normally a percentage of the total fee (excluding VAT) paid by the Ministry and it varies from agency to agency. The determination of the administration cost is subject to commercial negotiations with the recruitment agencies. The administration fee and labour cost are amalgamated into a single unit cost and recorded on the Ministry's systems in this way thus enabling the reporting of a total figure inclusive of VAT as provided in the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, columns 266-7W. To arrive at a breakdown of monies paid to the sourced labour, the administrative fees and the VAT would require a manual examination of each invoice submitted by a recruitment agency and this would incur a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Work Experience

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what work experience or traineeship schemes his Department offers to minority groups.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice does not offer work experience or work placements to minority groups directly, and does not record centrally the ethnicity of persons undertaking unpaid work experience. To establish this information will require an examination of locally held records and this will incur a disproportionate cost.

Legal Aid Scheme: Asbestosis

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has given to the capacity of people with asbestosis to seek legal redress under his proposals for reform of legal aid.

Jonathan Djanogly: Legal aid for most personal injury claims (other than clinical negligence) was abolished by the Access to Justice Act 1999 because these claims could be funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement ("no win, no fee"). Under both the Access to Justice Act 1999, and the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill that is before Parliament, there remains a safety net for legal aid to be granted in individual cases. Funding will continue to be available under clause 9 of the Bill where failure to provide legal aid will breach the applicant's right to legal aid under the European Convention on Human Rights or any other enforceable right to legal aid under EU law.

Legal Aid Scheme: Asil Nadir

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much legal aid has been provided to Asil Nadir in the last 18 months.

Jonathan Djanogly: The case against Asil Nadir is ongoing. It would be wrong of me to either comment on or to disclose specific details concerning the costs of any case while it is still ongoing.

Prisoners

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of civil prisoners imprisoned in England and Wales; and whether he has made an estimate of the number of civil prisoners held in (a) open and (b) closed prisons.

Crispin Blunt: As at 31 December 2011 there were 32 civil prisoners, all of whom were being held in closed conditions.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Human Rights

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training and advice has been provided to members of independent monitoring boards of prisons on their duties under the UN Optional Protocol for the Prevention of Torture.

Crispin Blunt: The UN Optional Protocol requires the National Preventative Mechanism to have certain powers including the regular examination of the treatment of people deprived of their liberty in places of detention. As Independent Monitoring Boards have the necessary statutory powers to unrestricted access to prisons and places of detention and the power to make unannounced visits they are a designated part of the United Kingdom's National Preventative Mechanism.
	New members of an Independent Monitoring Board attend a foundation course which explains their powers and how they are to be exercised. If requested, advice and material relating to the Optional Protocol for the Prevention of Torture will be provided by the secretariat to the Independent Monitoring Boards.

Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what new prison capacity he expects to become available at each establishment in each month of 2012.

Crispin Blunt: The prison capacity programme is ongoing and will deliver additional prison capacity in 2012 at two new establishments: HMP Thameside in South East London (900 places from March) and HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire (1,605 places from April).
	Options for increasing the number of prison places at existing establishments, including through new-build accommodation, existing accommodation being returned to use, an increase in multiple occupancy of prison cells and other measures are kept under ongoing review and activated when necessary. Decisions on increasing capacity will depend on the required number of places necessary to accommodate all those committed to custody by the courts.

Prisons: Private Sector

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on future tendering for the running of prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Government's policy on tendering for the running of prisons flows from our ambition for encouraging greater involvement of the private and voluntary sectors in the rehabilitation of offenders in order to cut re-offending and improve outcomes and efficiency. Competition will provide the opportunity to implement policy priorities, such as working prisons and payment by results.
	The Competition Strategy for Offender Services, published in July last year outlines the principles that will determine the use of competition in offender services and sets out the custodial programme for the first year. This includes competitions for the management of eight public sector prisons and there-competition of HMP Wolds.
	We will publish an annual update of our competition programme in the summer. This will include both existing commitments and all planned new opportunities expected to be launched within twelve months of the date of the publication of the update.

Prostitution: Convictions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for (a) soliciting for the purpose of prostitution in a public place, (b) keeping a brothel and (c) control of prostitution for offences committed in (i) London and (ii) West Yorkshire in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty of offences related to prostitution at all courts in the Greater London and West Yorkshire police force areas for the years 2008 to 2010 (latest currently available) can be viewed in the table.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.
	
		
			 Defendants found guilty of offences related to prostitution at all courts in the Greater London (1)  and West Yorkshire police force areas, 2008 to 2010 (2, 3, 4) 
			 Police force area/offence 2008 2009 2010 
			 Greater London    
			 Kerb crawling 165 117 79 
			 Soliciting for the purposes of prostitution in a public place 114 65 92 
			 Keeping a brothel 11 15 18 
			 Control of prostitution 16 4 9 
			     
			 West Yorkshire    
			 Kerb crawling 6 1 1 
			 Soliciting for the purposes of prostitution in a public place 13 8 5 
			 Keeping a brothel 5 8 4 
			 Control of prostitution 1 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Comprises the Metropolitan and City of London police force areas. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Kerb crawling: Sexual Offences Act 1985, S.1 kerb crawling Sexual Offences Act 1985, S.2 Persistent soliciting of person or persons for the purpose of prostitution Soliciting for the purposes of prostitution in a public place: Sexual Offences Act 1985, S.1 Common prostitute loitering or soliciting for the purpose of prostitution Sexual Offences Act 2003, S.51A Solicit another for the purpose of obtaining their sexual services as a prostitute in a street/public place Keeping a brothel: Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.33A as added by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.55 Keeping a brothel for prostitution Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.33 Keeping a brothel Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.34 Letting premises for use as a brothel Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.35 Tenant permitting premises to be used as a brothel Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.36 Tenant permitting premises to be used for prostitution Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.33 as amended by the Sexual Offences Act 1967 Keeping a brothel for homosexual practices Sexual Offences Act 1956 s.34 Letting premises for use as a brothel for homosexual practices Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.35 as amended by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.53 Tenant permitting premises to be used as a brothel for homosexual practices Similar provisions in Local Acts Other offences against keeping a brothel Control of prostitution: Sexual Offences Act 2001 s.53 Controlling prostitution for gain Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice.

Repossessions

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of home repossessions in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Dudley borough in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013;
	(2)  how many homes were repossessed by mortgage lenders in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Dudley borough in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Jonathan Djanogly: There were 53,045 county court claims which led to orders being made for the repossession of property by mortgage lenders in England in 2010, the latest year for which figures are available. Of these, 5,915 related to properties in the West Midlands, and 295 in Dudley borough. The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the total numbers of repossessions of property (including where keys are handed back voluntarily).
	These figures represent the numbers of claims leading to orders being made. This is more accurate than the number of orders, removing the double-counting of instances where a single claim leads to more than one order. It is also a more meaningful measure of the number of homeowners who are subject to court repossession actions.
	These figures do not indicate how many properties have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Also, not all possession orders result in repossession. Many orders are suspended and if the borrower complies with the repayment arrangements set out in the suspended order the property will not be repossessed.
	Claims leading to orders figures for all regions and local authority areas in England and Wales in 2011 will be published on 9 February 2012. This statistical bulletin will be available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/civil-justice/mortgage-possession.htm
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders in December 2011 released forecasts of 37,000 repossessions in the United Kingdom in 2011 (down from an initial 40,000) and 45,000 in 2012. They have not yet released a forecast for 2013 and do not publish regional estimates.

Youth Custody: Advocacy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure a statutory right to advocacy for every child in custody.

Crispin Blunt: Young people aged under 18 years of age may be placed in three different types of secure accommodation; local authority secure children's homes, secure training centres or under 18 young offenders institutions.
	The national minimum standards, underpinned by the Children's Homes Regulations 2001, set out requirements for enabling children in secure children's home to have access to advocacy, and secure children's homes have visiting independent persons' services contracted by the relevant local authority.
	The Secure Training Centre Rules 1998 make provision for the appointment of Independent Persons to visit young people in secure training centres and hear their representations. The Youth Justice Board commissions two children's charities to fulfil this function within secure training centres and they operate in line with the National Standards for Youth Advocacy.
	The Youth Justice Board has also extended the advocacy service commissioned for secure training centres into under 18 young offenders institutions. The service is delivered by children's charities and operates in line with the National Standards for Youth Advocacy.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Political Parties: Finance

Michael Fallon: To ask the Leader of the House whether he has considered changing the annual indexation of Short money to each Opposition party from the retail prices index to the consumer prices index.

George Young: No.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Recruitment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 100W, on departmental recruitment, how much of the £13,522.82 spent on recruitment agencies was spent on agency (a) fees and (b) staff.

Owen Paterson: The Department is charged an hourly rate for these staff. There is no separate fee, although the agency may include a fee element in the hourly rate it levies.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Complaints

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many service complaints the Transport Commission has received about bus and coach operators in Vehicle and Operator Services Agency area 3, including (a) Go North East, (b) Stagecoach Cumbria, (c) Stagecoach North East, (d) Snaiths Coaches, (e) Scarlet Band Motor Services, (f) Redby Travel, (g) Kingsley Coaches, (h) Henry Cooper, (i) First Choice Travel, (j) Classic Coaches, (k) Arriva North East and (l) A-line Coaches in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The number of complaints held on operators is not available as the data are commercially in-confidence. Complaints are not recorded by area so to find out the total number for area 3 would invoke disproportionate cost.

Buses: Testing

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many (a) PSV414 advisory notices and (b) PG9s were issued by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency to bus and coach operators in area 3, including (i) Go North East, (ii) Stagecoach Cumbria, (iii) Stagecoach North East, (iv) Snaiths Coaches, (v) Scarlet Band Motor Services, (vi) Redby Travel, (vii) Kingsley Coaches, (viii) Henry Cooper, (ix) First Choice Travel, (x) Classic Coaches, (xi) Arriva North East and (xii) A-line Coaches in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many prohibitions were found by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency operating area 3, involving bus and coach operators in the north-east in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: Prohibition and advisory note results are not available by operator as the data are commercially in-confidence.
	PG9's are another name for prohibitions.
	The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's north-east area figures for bus and coach operators (PSV's) are in the following table:
	
		
			  Roadworthiness Drivers hours 
			  Checks Prohibitions Advisory notices Checks Prohibition 
			 2006-07 479 131 (1)10 315 0 
			 2007-08 468 104 (1)94 306 29 
			 2008-09 804 174 408 327 34 
			 2009-10 604 119 327 397 60 
			 2010-11 663 116 378 427 59 
			 (1) Advisory notice in 2006-07 and 2008 were recorded using a different method and should not be compared with later years.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent contracts her Department has entered into with Northgate Information Solutions Limited and its subsidiaries; and what the value was of each such contract.

Norman Baker: holding answer 20 January 2012
	The Department has not entered into any recent contracts with Northgate Information Solutions Ltd or its subsidiaries.

Electric Vehicles: Finance

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has for the future funding of the Plug-In Car Grant.

Norman Baker: The 2010 spending review confirmed funding for consumer incentives for ultra low emission vehicles for the lifetime of this parliament and that we will monitor the most effective way to deliver this investment.
	Last month, I announced that the scheme is being extended to electric vans, with a potential discount of £8,000, or up to 20% of the total value of the vehicle.

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which EU regulations her Department has not implemented; on what date the regulations became EU law; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: I have taken this question to mean which of the EU directives my Department is directly involved in have not been implemented. EU regulations have direct effect and so do not require transposition, although it may be necessary to introduce some related measures, for example to ensure that there are effective remedies and penalties.
	EU law provides that directives become part of EU law once they are adopted. The EU directives requiring transposition which my Department is directly involved in implementing are:
	Directive 2003/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 April 2003 amending Council Directive 91/671/EEC on the approximation of laws of the member states relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3.5 tonnes (one discrete aspect remaining);
	Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences;
	Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community;
	Commission Directive 2008/65/EEC of 27 June 2008 amending Directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences;
	Directive 2008/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 amending Directive 2004/49/EC on safety of the Community's railways (Railway Safety Directive);
	Council Directive 2009/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2009 implementing the Agreement concluded by the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) on the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, and amending Directive 1999/63/EC;
	Directive 2009/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector and amending Council Directive 1999/35/EC and Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
	Directive 2009/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims;
	Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC;
	Directive 2009/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas oil and introducing a mechanism to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and amending Council Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC;
	Directive 2009/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 on roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers;
	Commission Directive 2009/149/EC of 27 November 2009 amending Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards Common Safety Indicators and common methods to calculate accident costs;
	Commission Directive 2010/36/EU of 1 June 2010 amending Directive 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on safety rules and standards for passenger ships;
	Commission Directive 2010/47/EU of 5 July 2010 adapting to technical progress Directive 2000/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Community;
	Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport;
	Directive 2010/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the member states and repealing Directive 2002/6/EC;
	Commission Directive 2011/18/EU of 1 March 2011 amending Annexes II, V and VI to Directive 2008/57/EC of the Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community;
	Commission Directive 2011/63/EU of 1 June 2011 amending, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical progress, Directive 98/70/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels;
	Commission Directive 2011/75/EU of 2 September 2011 amending Directive 96/98/EC on marine equipment; and
	Directive 2011/72/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2011 amending Directive 2000/25/EC as regards the provision for tractors placed on the market under the flexibility scheme.

High Speed Two

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which consultants are being or have been used on the High Speed 2 project; and what the (a)  remit and (b) cost to the public purse was of their services in each case.

Justine Greening: The following table provides information on the consultants used by both HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport since the inception of HS2 Ltd in 2009 to present. It also gives information on their remit and associated costs.
	
		
			 Company Remit Costs 
			 ALOGIT Technical services 23,184.00 
			 DbyD: Consultation Institute Consultation 23,760.00 
			 Arup Engineering and technical services 7,155,687.35 
			 Atkins Economic services 2,053,812.96 
			 Bircham Dyson Bell Legal services 117,013.52 
			 Bombardier: Min Headway Eval Engineering and technical services 24,000.00 
			 Booz and Company Environmental and economic services 3,550,744.07 
			 Campbell Associates Environmental services 37,473.26 
			 CB Richard Ellis Property services 280,606.59 
			 CCH Wolters Kluwer (UK) LTD Taxation services 504.00 
			 Davis Langdon Cost and risk services 26,569.60 
			 DG Consultant Transport services 17,500.00 
			 Senior Ecologist—ELM Environment Environmental services 10,027.74 
			 Energy Strategy Engineering services 2,160.00 
			 Ernst & Young LLP Financial services 410,888.90 
			 Eversheds LLP Legal services 233,499.89 
			 Hay Group Management Limited HR services 53,987.36 
			 Transport Studies Unit Transport services 48,135.60 
			 Landmark Chambers Legal services 13,800.00 
			 Mott Macdonald Engineering services 4,412,654.42 
			 MSG Engineering services 154,904.91 
			 MVA Economic services 3,276,661.48 
			 Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd Environmental/transport services 7,632.51 
			 Oliver Wyman Consulting Limited Strategy consultancy 107,497.73 
			 Paul Jenkins Associates Ltd Engineering services 22,696.18 
			 Rand Europe Economic services 19,986.80 
			 Reg Harman Consultancy Environmental services 783.30 
			 Rowsell Wright Procurement services 257,976.00 
			 URS/Scott Wilson Economic services 14,652.00 
			 Stoneywood Consultants Organisation/procurement services 59,001.59 
			 Systra Operational services 82,500.00 
			 Temple Ltd Environmental services 3,209,557.60 
			 Thornton Springer Taxation/payroll advice 1,842.00 
			 UKPNS Traction Environmental services 111,430.95

Motorways: Accidents

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the risks of proposed changes to the Incident and Support Unit (ISU) service in respect of (a) the public and (b) employees of the ISU.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency is responsible for operating and maintaining the strategic road network (SRN). When reviewing the specification of incident response the agency has ensured that its primary objective is the safety of road users, Highways Agency traffic officers, road workers and emergency service personnel.
	Currently, managing agent contract (MAC) service providers are contractually required to attend all incidents on the SRN within a specified time and incident clear up times are not specified. In over 60% of cases incidents are resolved by Highways Agency traffic officers or emergency service personnel and therefore do not require service provider involvement. The new incident response requirement mandates service providers to clear up incidents within set times. The revised requirement is based on current clear up times and hence the outcome for road users should be similar in most cases.
	The development of the incident response requirements included an approach which identified hazards and evaluated and mitigated associated risks.
	Traffic management will continue to be provided in accordance with current guidance (DFT, Traffic Signs Manual, chapter 8—roadworks and temporary situations) in a manner which maintains a safe working environment.

Northern Rail: Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much grant funding her Department provided to the holding company operating the Northern Rail franchise in each year of its operation.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 30 January 2012
	Subsidy and premium payments in respect of all rail franchises are published annually by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in National Rail Trends (NRT). Copies of NRT are available in the Library of the House and on the ORR's website at:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she plans to take steps to reduce the instances of closure of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge between Dartford and Thurrock during adverse weather conditions.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency routinely reviews its operational procedures to ensure they remain appropriate. Following the recent closures of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge I have asked the Highways Agency to look into whether total closure of the bridge is the only viable option, when the risk is limited to high-sided vehicles, or whether the bridge could in future remain open to cars only.

Railways: East of England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to improve rail infrastructure connectivity between urban areas in the East of England; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: holding answer 31 January 2012
	The Government have committed to deliver the Thameslink programme which will improve rail connectivity between several urban areas in the East of England. As a result of its policy to let longer franchises of up to 15-years, the Government expects that the future Greater Anglia and Essex Thames-side franchises will deliver further improvements in rail connectivity in the East of England.

Railways: South West

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date she approved the application for a change to the ticket validity on the route from Bristol to Hereford via Bromsgrove submitted by the Association of Train Operating Companies.

Norman Baker: The Association of Train Operating companies notified us of several changes to the National Routeing Guide in December relating to journeys made via Bromsgrove. No formal request was made by ATOC for the approval of the Secretary of State for Transport to these changes as no valid routeing permissions were withdrawn. Separate changes were made by the train operator to the time of day restrictions on the regulated off peak return tickets priced by Cross Country Trains in the Midlands and other regions. These alterations were all made within the prescribed limits set out in the franchise agreement of every train operator, and consequently no consent from the Secretary of State is required in such circumstances.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she considered introducing separate targets for biodiesel and ethanol in the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation.

Norman Baker: The Department received representations on a number of issues related to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) during consultations on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). These included suggestions that the RTFO should distinguish between bioethanol and biodiesel, arguing that if it did, this might provide a mechanism to drive equal demand for both products. The suggestion was taken into account through the consultation exercise.
	It is important to recognise that the RTFO is a mechanism designed to reduce carbon emissions and promote the supply of sustainable biofuels. The RTFO has now been amended to implement the transport elements of the RED. This requires reporting against mandatory sustainability criteria and allows biofuel which is produced from wastes, residues, non-food cellulosic material and ligno-cellulosic material feedstocks to be eligible for double rewards. However, the current RTFO is not a mechanism to direct the market towards a specific sustainable biofuel product or method of production.

TREASURY

Executives: Pay

Guy Opperman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps is he taking to restrict excessive executive pay.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	As my hon. Friend knows, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), announced a number of proposals to the House on 23 January 2012, Official Report, columns 23-25. These included measures for greater transparency on pay, more shareholder power—binding votes on annual re-election of directors, binding votes on section of the remuneration report which contains future proposed policy and other proposals to address the market failures that exit in the executive pay setting process. Further details can be found in the written ministerial statement, available in the Libraries of the House.

HM Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what security checks staff employed by Sitel and Teleperformance at HM Revenue and Customs contact centres are subject to;
	(2)  what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to establish whether staff employed by Sitel and Teleperformance at its contact centres have undergone appropriate security checks.

David Gauke: HM Government's Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is the pre-employment control check for all civil servants, members of the armed forces, and private sector employees working on Government contracts, it is a check of identity, employment history, nationality and immigration status, and criminal record (unspent convictions).
	HMRC have required—as a contractual condition—that both service providers comply with the BPSS in respect of all persons employed or engaged in the provision of the services under the contract. In addition to the BPSS, HMRC have also required a criminal record check of spent convictions and a credit reference check be undertaken by the providers. These additional checks over and above the BPSS, mirror those currently made of all people seeking direct employment with HMRC.
	It is a further contractual condition that the service provider warrants that the checks specified in the BPSS have been carried out and that the results of those checks are satisfactory. HMRC undertakes robust audit and assurance activities to satisfy itself that the required checks have been completed and the required standards met.
	A copy of the BPSS is available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/baseline-personnel-security-standard.pdf

M6 Toll

David Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration his Department has given to underwriting the re-financing of the M6 Toll Company in order to provide a direct link from the M54 to the M6 north and the M6 toll road south.

Danny Alexander: The Department for Transport set out its plans for the strategic roads programme in the document “Investment in Highways Transport Schemes” which accompanied the statement to the House by the then Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), of 26 October 2010, Official Report, columns 177-79WS. The M54/M6/M6 Toll Link road scheme, was identified among 18 'future schemes' for potential construction in future spending review periods and among four schemes to be reviewed by the Highways Agency to ensure that the design of the scheme is the best possible.
	The Department is presently considering how these future schemes should be developed during the current spending review period.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Michael Crockart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many years HM Revenue and Customs is required to keep records of (a) tax and (b) national insurance contributions paid by an individual.

David Gauke: HMRC has a standard records retention policy of six years plus the current year for direct taxes and indirect taxes information. There will be exceptions due to business need, for example a personal tax record may become part of-a record held in relation to a tribunal hearing. In such cases, a different retention policy may come into play because the business need requires it. Once this business need has passed the record returns to its normal retention policy
	There is no legislative time limit for keeping records of national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by an individual. Since the introduction of the National Insurance Recording System 2 (now called the National Insurance contributions and PAYE Service (NPS)) the information is retained indefinitely because there is a business need for contributory benefit purposes.

Social Services: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Health, (b) Communities and Local Government and (c) Work and Pensions on the potential for reform of the funding of social care to result in savings to the public purse across Government.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 31 January 2012
	HM Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues. On the funding of social care, the Government welcomed the work of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support chaired by Andrew Dilnot, and committed to consider the recommendations carefully.
	The Government have been engaging with the care sector to develop and refine their priorities and plans for action, bearing in mind the financial context. They will publish a White Paper on wider social care issues including a progress report on funding reform in the spring.

Tax Allowances

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what revenue accrued to the Exchequer in respect of (a) inheritance tax in each year since 1998 and (b) capital transfer tax between 1982 and 1986 from each (i) region, (ii) constituency and (iii) local authority area;
	(2)  what relief was claimed in respect of (a) business relief from inheritance tax in each year since 1996, (b) forgiveness of capital gains tax at death in each of the last five years and (c) spouse or civil partner exemptions on gifts paid over a lifetime in each of the last five years in each (i) region, (ii) constituency and (iii) local authority area.

David Gauke: Data on inheritance tax receipts since 2001-02 is published in the National Statistics HMRC receipts table available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/tax-receipts-and-taxpayers.pdf
	Receipts from inheritance tax for earlier years are published in archived Table 1.2 Annual Receipts of former Inland Revenue Taxes available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/1_2_v2_dec05.pdf
	Regional inheritance tax receipts for 2008-09 are published in Table 12.10, available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/inheritance_tax/table12-10.pdf
	Based on the same table, regional receipts for 2007-08 in £ million were:
	
		
			  Tax £ million 
			 United Kingdom 3,072 
			 England 2,729 
			 North East 60 
			 North West 188 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 150 
			 East Midlands 141 
			 West Midlands 165 
			 East of England 297 
			 London 603 
			 South East 744 
			 South West 381 
			 Wales 86 
			 Scotland 220 
			 Northern Ireland 38 
		
	
	Data on inheritance tax receipts by region for earlier years are not available.
	Data on the numbers of taxpayers by constituency and by Local Administrative Unit Level 1 (which coincide with District/Unitary Authorities in England and Wales) are published in Tables 12.12 and 12.11 respectively which are available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/inheritance_tax/table12-12.pdf
	and
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/inheritance_tax/table12-11.pdf
	Data on inheritance tax receipts at this level are not available.
	Receipts from capital transfer tax for the period 1982 to 1986 are published in archived Table 1.2 Annual Receipts of former Inland Revenue Taxes available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/1_2_v2_decQ5.xfs
	A breakdown of these receipts by geographic area is not available.
	The amounts of assets which are relieved from inheritance tax due to business property relief for estates over the inheritance tax threshold for 2004-05 to 2008-09 are published in National Statistics table 12.2 available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/inheritance_tax/table12-2.xls
	Based on this table the amount of assets relieved since 1996-97 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Relief set against assets £ million 
			 1996-97 150 
			 1997-98 129 
			 1998-99 177 
			 1999-2000 353 
			 2000-01 183 
			 2001-02 240 
			 2002-03 332 
			 2003-04 227 
			 2004-05 252 
			 2005-06 295 
			 2006-07 341 
			 2007-08 460 
			 2008-09 409 
		
	
	An estimate of the cost of the exemption for capital gains tax accrued but unrealised at death is published by HMRC in Table 1.5 Main Tax Expenditures and Structural Reliefs available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-5.xls
	Estimates of the historical costs of this relief are not available.
	The information on spouse or civil partner relief on lifetime gifts is not available as these gifts do not need to be recorded on the inheritance tax return.
	Data on business relief, forgiveness of capital gains tax at death and spouse or civil partner exemptions on gifts paid over a lifetime by region, constituency and local authority area is not available.

Taxation: Sports

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people have paid tax on testimonial matches in each year since 2000;
	(2)  what revenue accrued to the Exchequer from testimonial matches in each year since 2000;
	(3)  how many successful appeals against the payment of tax on testimonial matches there were in each year since 2000.

David Gauke: There is no requirement for the parties involved in a testimonial match to individually report payments related to an event beyond their normal taxpayer obligations and HMRC does not hold separate data on testimonials. Any such payments would be considered in the course of a review of a taxpayer's affairs and HMRC is unable to disclose such details. The tax treatment of the proceeds from sporting testimonials and similar events will depend on the facts of a given case.

VAT: Scotland

Ian Davidson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses were registered for value added tax in (a) Glasgow South West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland in each year since 2000.

David Gauke: Between 2000 and 2008, the number of businesses registered for value added tax at the start of the year is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Glasgow South West Glasgow Scotland 
			 2000 800 12,380 125,465 
			 2001 835 12,485 126,535 
			 2002 865 12,595 127,145 
			 2003 875 12,540 128,035 
			 2004 900 12,625 129,930 
			 2005 925 12,795 132,070 
			 2006 960 12,995 134,290 
			 2007 1,000 13,270 136,915 
			 2008 1,040 13,745 141,895 
		
	
	These figures came from the report ‘Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations’, published by The Department for Businesses Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in November 2008. This report has now been discontinued. An extended series covering the last three years could be produced only at disproportionate costs.

WALES

Departmental Drinks

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department has spent on (a) wine, (b) other alcoholic refreshments and (c) bottled water since May 2010.

David Jones: Since May 2010, the Wales Office has spent £18 on bottled water. There have been no purchases made on wine or other alcoholic refreshments.

Departmental Recruitment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 98W, on employment agencies, how much of the £11,219.02 spent on recruitment agencies was spent on agency (a) fees and (b) staff.

David Jones: Of the £11,219.02 spent on agency staff, £673.14 (6%) is paid in agency fees.

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 16 January 2012, Official Report, column 31WS, on cost of Ministerial cars, whether her Department has any other arrangements for Ministerial travel; and how much her Department has spent on (a) private hire vehicles and (b) taxis for each Minister since May 2010.

David Jones: The Department has spent £22,351 on private hire vehicles, and £4,401 on taxis since May 2010. Private hire vehicles are sometimes used for ministerial visits in Wales, replacing a Jaguar procured prior to May 2010. Dispensing with an official car and driver in Wales has delivered an annual saving of £33,493.

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether her Department has agreed any contracts with (a) private hire vehicle and (b) taxi companies since May 2010.

David Jones: The Wales Office has not agreed any contracts with private hire vehicle or taxi companies since May 2010.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Free School Meals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to implement cashless payments for all recipients of free school meals.

Nick Gibb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	The implementation of cashless payments for all recipients of free school meals is a matter for individual schools to decide. The cost of free school meals are met by local authorities and schools.
	Most cashless catering systems are used by secondary schools. In 2009, the School Food Trust produced "The Independent Review of Cashless Catering Systems":
	http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/school-cooks-caterers/resources/an-independent-review-of-cashless-catering-systems
	Evidence gathered from secondary schools indicated that half the schools surveyed were already operating a cashless system. The report found that cashless catering reduced queues, enabled parents to monitor their children's eating habits, and reduced stigma/bullying.

Working Tax Credit

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his planned reforms of working tax credit, what steps he plans to take to ensure that couples with children who worked under 24 hours a week, were in receipt of working tax credit and who are unable to increase their working hours do not fall into poverty.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Couples with children will continue to qualify for working tax credit where at least one member of a couple works at least 16 hours per week and that person is eligible for the working tax credit disability element or is aged 60 or over. They will also qualify if one person works at least 16 hours a week and the other partner is incapacitated, an in-patient in hospital or in prison.
	HMRC are not planning to make any transitional arrangements or provide additional services for couples with children who may lose entitlement to working tax credit as a result of the change to the working hours conditions in April 2012.